When the earthquake struck over a year ago, a host of human angels rose up and winged their way to Milot. They landed at the hospital intent on doing whatever needed to be done. They worked under the radar, never called attention to themselves; their presence discernible in the trail of miracles left in their wake.
Mike Fleming, a humble and big hearted plumber from Brielle, New Jersey is just such an angel.
Soon after the earthquake struck, Mike arrived on campus with over $5,000 worth of plumbing supplies.
He discovered and fixed numerous issues.
Fleming fixed all the showerheads, rescued the ICU bathroom when a leak threatened the patient beds, created a gas trap in the OR sink and completed countless maintenance and upgrade tasks required when the upsurge in patient and volunteer population stressed the hospital’s plumbing system. “It was a massive amount of work for one guy,” noted medical volunteer, Dr. Dan Burzon. “Mike works like a whirling dervish. The energizer bunny has nothing on him.”
Fleming returned in October and tackled even more projects, including the start up of the oxygen delivery system. He took, HSC plumber, Tattoo under his wing and taught him new skills. In January, 2011, Mike visited HSC for a third time. Armed with almost $10,000 worth of materials, Fleming ran over 1,000 feet of copper and placed 25 oxygen stations throughout the hospital, hooked up a new washer and dryer and the usual daunting array of plumbing emergencies.
A typical day for Mike started at dawn and ended well past midnight. “Mike’s real impact on the hospital goes well beyond his work and financial generosity,” notes Construction Coordinator, Tim Traynor. “He became a brother to many of the Haitians he met, worked and played with. In those three trips, Mike captured the essence of what CRUDEM is all about, to be a force of change without forcing change.” “Mike gave freely of his time and talent but more importantly,” said Traynor, “he blessed us with a model to follow.”
