Thursday Updates from Dr. Carol Ritter in Jimani

From Dr. Carol Ritter: {UNEDITED VIA SMS/TXT} In eight short days starting with eight people, we've become the defacto Johns Hopkins of the isle of Hispanola. We are awash with volunteers all looking for the adrenaline of a few days ago. Now we have post op care , follow up and patient transportation to somewhere out of here. The patients either want to get back home to loved ones, or want to stay here with their loved ones and get food and lodging. Less glorious care for this energetic new bunch of fresh volunteers. We first eight are exhausted and looking after each other. Some of as manic persists. Others are geting a taste of post traumatic stress. I work frantically for Nadia 's visa. Plans to leave in two days with my friend hopefully at my side.  Here is a picture of Nadia with Haiti in the background.

GBMC Haiti Press Conference - January 18th

Jump to 1 minute to get to the conference call.

This event generated some of the following awareness: Baltimore Sun, 2nd Baltimore Sun Article, WBAL TV, WBAL Radio,  Baltimore Business Journal, Towson Times, Channel 13, Channel 2, WTOP, WJZ/ Associated Press, Fox45, Baltimore Examiner
Thanks for your help @gbmcmedia

3 Year Old Found After 8 Days in Haitian Rubble

From Dr. Carol Ritter VIA SMS/TXT/MMS: 3 year old found in the rubble today, 8 days after the quake. Doing well tonight after IV hydration. Most difficult IV stick by our wonderful pediatric docs! Good work, guys!!!

New Life In Haiti!

Dr. Carol Ritter Reports:  New Life!!!  Healthy baby and mom is doing well.

Echo of Haiti

A Story from a friend - By George Wills (from citybizlist)

I'd like to share a memory of a young soldier 52 years ago in Haiti, the small country at the center of 2010's first natural catastrophe. Last week's magnitude-7 earthquake killed an estimated 200,000 people, left 250,000 injured and 1.5 million homeless.
My first trip as a newly commissioned naval officer 52 years ago included Haiti, where the USS Aldebaran entered Port au Prince in 1958. We were stationed there due to the threat of violence from dictator Duvalier whose control over this small impoverished island was absolute. As a small group of young officers walking along a street, we were confronted by a young woman shrieking as she carried a tiny baby: "For sale! No money! " Shaken, we all opened our pockets and handed over what must have totaled $50. Our words: "Keep your baby! Promise! Please!"
We never knew the outcome, but hope was that we may have helped a ravished mother and child stay together.
Now over five decades later,

Dr. Carol Ritter - Tuesday Fox 45 Interview

Dr. Carol Ritter just finished an interview with Fox45 News. She and her husband, Dr. Tom Ritter, are both safe after the most recent earthquake. They are working in an area which is about a 2 hour drive from the epicenter. Shock was limited or non-existent in their current location.

When Fox45 posts the video we will link it in to the blog.

Dr. Carol Ritter's Photos and Report From Monday

UNEDITED VIA /SMS/TXT/MMS - A day filled with many fresh orphans. children losing parents and parents losing children all day. No one wants to stop working. Would give us time to think about it.

7 OR's going full force yesterday with a NY team, the Rainbow team, German, Japanese, Puerto Rican, Dominican, French. So many kids. Volunteers are all working together today in solidarity.

The photo shows blessings given by Padre with our Fatima holy water to a one year old about to have her hand amputated.

The woman in pink is waiting in line for her periorbital abscess debridement.

End of Day Updates for Monday

Carol and Tom tried to send me several pictures today. The mobile network has been terrible. I have gotten no updates. Hopefully we will have some text and pictures tomorrow.

I had a 15 minute phone call with Tom tonight. He has been made the "chief of staff" at the hospital. There are a lot of amazing efforts happening here in Baltimore to raise money. Tom hopes to get a chief of technology at the hospital tomorrow to handle communications issues.

A lot of you have been asking what to do. The answer is send money to professional disaster relief organizations, such as imaonline.org. Just flying to Haiti and saying "I am here to help" is not a good idea.

UPS has also shut down all shipments in and out of Haiti until further notice, so 'care packages' are not an option.

Attempting to Get a Visa for Nadia

I have been working most of the day, writing letters and attempting to contact our state senators and representatives about bringing Nadia home with Tom and Carol to deliver her baby and to receive some much needed post-op surgery. Nadia is the Haitian interpreter that has been an integral part of missions for Friends of Haiti. Due to the high risk condition associated with her pregnancy, it is imperative that she be delivered of this child here, among modern medical technology.

Nadia is currently with Carol and Tom in the DR. She has a husband and a three year old son. If you have any ideas or links to someone who can help with a visa, please let me know!

Haiti Status Update From a Friend

From: JDA4Him
Sent: Mon Jan 18 20:52:00 2010
Subject: Haïti Update 18 January 2010
Hello Everyone! - Here are some neat things we’ve been finding:

• I’ve never seen the Haitian people more united than right now. Folks that still have a resource are freely sharing it with others. All my neighbors have folks staying with them; and both Odelin and Samuel are housing people in their courtyards—even though Samuel no longer has a house!
• Food aid is arriving to the needy but still rather slowly as they continue to clear roads and establish a system to get to some rather remote spots. BUT local people are helping! A number are preparing food from their own homes to share with those who do not have—even though markets are just beginning to open and none of us has much cash to restock supplies (this is a cash-based economy and the banks remain closed).
  
  
  

E-mail from Paul Farmer

{UNEDITED} Email/SMS Forwarding an e-mail that one of our team just received from Paul Farmer:  Dear Joia:

Tried to get more information on referrals to US military surgical capacity in Haiti, or just off-shore or on the island in the DR. Am assuming these are surgical referrals (but our phones are not working in Port au Prince so don't have info). Some info:

1.) The USS Carl Vinson has 30 beds but only a general surgeon; no neurosurgeon. You will hear that it is their mission to treat US citizens only but they have already operated on non-US citizens. Sanjay Gupta did a procedure there this morning on a child. I have the names of the medical officer (Dr. Lee Harvis, with whom I spoke at length; cell xxx-xxx-xxxx) and the commanding officer (Capt. John Kirby xxx-xxx-xxxx) and their e-mails too. The USS Comfort is coming in on Thursday and will have a lot more capacity by report.

Forgot to Thank Some People on the Media Interviews

{UNEDITED} From Dr Thomas Ritter VIA SMS -

I forgot to plug the most important helper and problem solver on our press conference call:
Robert Wray, who is the owner of Innovative Technology and a great friend for setting up our blog and jumping in whenever we needed his help. He has been our press secretary for our state side communications. He and Debbie Streeter, one of my dental staff who has been to Haiti on past trips, and all those who we may never know - thanks! We can feel the love.

Thanks For All the Media Support

Thanks for all the media support: Baltimore Sun, 2nd Baltimore Sun Article, WBAL TV, WBAL Radio,  Baltimore Business Journal, Towson Times, Channel 13, Channel 2, WTOP, WJZ/ Associated Press, Fox45, Baltimore Examiner and GBMC's media group. You all have really helped spread the word. A press conference was just taped at the GBMC hospital at 8:00PM on Monday with the Ritters connected live in Haiti. Expect links to the above articles, media and audio clips to be linked as they become available. If you haven't made a donation yet, please consider imaonline.org

Such Sad Stories

VIA TXT/SMS From Dr. Carol Ritter.  Such Sad Stories - They keep coming.  We are crazy but functioning.  The coast guard, Japanese and Canadians arrived today.   See some pictures from 3:15 pm:

Current Photo of Tom and Carol from Haiti

We took a quick break because several people wanted to see a current picture.  This was taken at 11AM Monday morning. 

Baby Delivered & Friend/Translator is Safe in Dominican Republic

From Dr. Carol Ritter VIA SMS/TXT message: Nadia is safe with us and stoic. Came over with French journalists. Her husband and 3 year old are in Haiti without passports. Tears in her eyes about what's happening to her country. Waiting for immigration to open tomorrow. Making plans to deliver in DR if unable to get to US. The clinic is awash in trauma patients. Only 3 deaths input post op patients. WHO intel set up down the street . They see our organizational abilities relative to other facilities, and are sending more and more patients our way.

Oh - by the way, I did deliver a healthy baby girl yesterday in the middle of all the amputations. They named her Carol! Life is bittersweet .

Late PM Update From Tom - Two Aid Workers Killed. We Are Safe and Okay.

From Dr. Tom Ritter / Late Sunday night via SMS/TXT: All surgeons from Puerto Rico have quieted down, and what was once a 7 operating room hospital is now closed for night. Three to four hundred patients and post-op patients will hopefully make it through the night, then we go to regroup.

I am told two aid workers were killed. Rest assured -we are safe and security is not a problem. Gonna nap till 5:30 - yahoo! Please do not be in hurry to come here - there will be work for med teams like Katrina for years and years. Nite nite. Carol delivered baby that was named...Carol.

4pm Sunday TXT/SMS Update from Haiti

Things slow down to a crawl while the experts decide who is in charge. There are people here from every alphabet soup trying to mess with our mess. Made it all the way to top of the chain of command - now just sitting. What we came for was that medivac with the military - now we sit.

Coming to Haiti to Help? What Do I Bring?

From Twitter: Some people direct messaged the Ritters @CarolTomHaiti and wanted to know what they can bring. Here is a response from Tom & Carol .
From Dr. Carol Ritter: VIA /TXT/SMS
IV antibiotics
Anesthesiologist
Sonogramas
Regional anesthesia
Laryngoscopes
Spinal needles
Narcotics

Machines for the operating rooms and recovery rooms. We have 8
operating rooms.

Dr. Tom Ritter mentioned on another post: " Please do not be in a
hurry to come here - there will be work for med teams like Katrina for
years and years."

Several Sunday Morning Updates

Update From Dr. Tom Ritter VIA SMS/TXT 7:32AM Good Morning: Slept in comfort. Team fed. Heading to hospital to see what the night has done to our systems. Carol and I feel today is the day to try to move Nadia across the border to the Dominican Republic. Film crew to follow us all day. I knew I should have put mousse in my hair this morning.

9:25AM Did morning assessments. Food is no longer a problem for relief workers in this area. Housing is camping only - maybe sleeping on the floor inside. Doing medical supply run - there are no IV antibiotics. About 100 crush injuries now, with old infections everywhere. Many amputations needed and done. Our crew is mostly coordinating docs and problem solving. Infection control - there are no autoclaves, no bleach, no Cidex, nothing. Hope to get boiling water disinfection up soon, but clean instruments - they are not. I hate this phone but love all the support.

10:39 AM: Just ran into our friend, the senator. We are staying at his house which is very comfy. Called meeting of all powers that be - U.S. Army, Dominican Republic army, and all the chiefs wish us luck. They assume we know something they don't.