(Or Don’t let George do it alone!!)
By Pat Balanky, R.N.
In 1998, I was newly retired from the local Trauma One Center Hospital (Shands) in Jacksonville, Fl. where I spent a thirty year nursing career in the OR. During that time, I came to the realization that many supplies we wasted were actually usable. I became a contact person for the doctors who were involved in medical missions and was able to assist them with items. That is how my husband, David, and I became a team with Dr. George Fipp. George was also retired, and he had a long history of “giving back” by ministering to Haiti. His specialty in Orthopedics made him extremely valuable to this Caribbean island. There were only a tiny few “Bone Doctors” in the country, and most of them were volunteers. None of the local doctors could afford the extra years of training or the cost of instrumentation. In 2000, George asked David and I to join him on a trip to Bonn Finn, Haiti. I was astounded at the conditions of the OR instrumentation and organized it for surgery. David repaired anything and everything that he could, sharpening scissors with a piece of brick. That did it! George said he was not making any more trips alone. Our next trip was to Milot, where we fell in love with Hôpital Sacré Coeur, the nuns and staff. We called it the “potato chip” syndrome. We could not go just once!
George Fipp was our leader, a dear friend and teacher. He led with humor, compassion, and integrity. He said, ”If you think you are going to change Haiti, then don’t go.”
He loved and respected the people and showed them how to care for themselves. His wife, Betty, accompanied him on several trips. She assisted sewing projects with the local ladies as well as spending time working in the pharmacy. George died in 2006 and his longtime friend and college, Dr. John Lovejoy, stepped in to our midst and saved the mission. Another wonderful blessing! His longtime volunteerism in the third world was invaluable. John can repair cars as well as people and leave everyone pleased with the results.
There is a saying that once you are committed to a project the heavens will open, and this is true. The three of us formed a local support group here in Jacksonville, where we had monthly meetings and invited interested persons to attend. George tapped the medical community and we began to get calls from local hospitals with gifts of equipment, scrubs, instruments, and volunteers. Through the efforts of Dr. Fipp, the Orthopedic Residents Program at Shands made a commitment to allow the participants to accompany the group to assist at Hôpital Sacré Coeur. The interest in CRUDEM and the progress in the equipment development made it possible to do more sophisticated surgeries and diagnose more cases. Donations of funds increased also as friends and family were eager to help. Little did we realize what we were getting ready for! The earthquake!! We could never have saved so many patients if we had not been preparing for all those years. Carol Fipp (one of George’s five daughters) devoted her life for six months to making arrangements for all the logistics of transportation and distribution of people and supplies, by phone and internet.
David and I made trips with the teams for eleven years. We have “passed the baton” to younger volunteers, but continue to work on the ground here in Jacksonville. Dr. Lovejoy created a Prosthetic Lab (another miracle!) that is in place at the hospital. He continues to inspire and cajole volunteer medical help and make this world a better place. Carol Fipp is now a graduate nurse, having changed career paths from the accounting world. Haiti is now part of our lives, and there is a very large group of financial donors that continue to send support to CRUDEM. We are grateful for this blessing in our lives. We know George is smiling and proud!
