Today we were going home.
Last night was memorable. Under the gentle moonlight, we chatted and reflected on the past few days. We were planning for the future mission trips to Haiti, and discussing the possibilities of building a surgical center in Haiti for long term medical mission.
After sunset, a group of people in the village gathered together, singing and dancing by a campfire. Their songs had beautiful rhythm. Their voices sounded happy, enthusiastic. I listened carefully for a while. Although I did not understand their language, I found that the pitch was different in height and length, and there was no repetition. I wondered how they could remember so many songs! Their enthusiasm moved me.
Happiness has nothing to do with wealth or poverty. I have seen rich people miserable and poor people happy. Poverty could not rob the joy of Haitian people. If the Haitians can be so joyful despite their hardship, we have no reason to complain, since our situations are far well off.
This medical mission journey to Haiti was a blessing to me, I had an opportunity to meet many wonderful people.
Our team leader was Dr. Steven Shu. He had a heart to serve the Haitian people since 2017 and this was the 7th time he led medical missions to Haiti. For each mission, he spent countless time and effort in organizing. In October, he fell and broke his ankle, even 6 weeks later he still had pain and edema at his ankle. He limped while walking. I joked that his style of walking was beautiful. Well, I did not mean that the posture was beautiful, but his heart with love, his perseverance and determination to serve Haitian people were beautiful.
Dr. Shu stood long hours for the operations. It did not take long each day that his leg got more swollen and painful, and it only got worse as the time went by. He had to raise his leg to reduce the swelling between cases.
Dr. Yu was a family practice physician from New Jersey. Her voice was always peaceful and gentle; her smile was sweet. She seemed to have the power to calm down a restless heart! Dr. Shu even joked that when he got hyper or depressed, all he needed was Dr. Yu’s presence.
During the coronavirus pandemic, people were afraid to travel. But Dr. Yu made up her mind to join the mission, to assist Dr. Shu with the surgeries. Her department chairwoman strongly persuaded her to cancel the trip, even to the last day before the journey, for fear that she might be infected with the virus. “My life is in the hand of God. Only God can decide the time He will take me home. If this is not my time to go, then I will be fine. If this is the time I go, that is fine too. If I die, I die in serving the Lord Jesus, and in doing what I love,” Dr. Yu said. This was the second time she joined Make Men Smile program to Haiti for medical mission. I especially cherished the moments that we shared our journey of faith under the moon-lit sky and prayed together. I was blessed to have a sister like her to strengthen our faith in the Lord.
Dr. Poreider was an OB GYN physician in China, now served as a CEO for many companies in the United States, China, Africa and other countries. She was also a good photographer, and her photography work often published on the world’s top photography platform 1x.com. She joined our mission trip for a filming project for Make Men Smile program. Because her experience and skill in OB GYN, she was a good assistant to Dr. Shu too.
Dr. Peterson was the director of surgery. He was tall and very capable. He would observe Dr. Shu performed hydrocelectomies. He was a quick learner too. One day while we were taking a short lunch break, he did a simple hydrocelectomy himself under local anesthesia!
I would assume such a talented surgeon came from a wealthy family. But I was wrong! His family could not even pay for his elementary school tuition! (Primary education is not free in Haiti.) He went to church schools. Once he graduated from high school, he was “adopted” through an international adoption program, which actually sponsored him to continue his higher educations. He finished medical school in Haiti and did some residency training in the US.
Many US-trained Haitian doctors choose to work in the US. But he decided to come back to his home country to serve his people. He even broke up with his girlfriend! I asked him if he regretted his decision? He was quiet for a moment, then said: “No, I would not regret. I cannot forsake my country and the people. I am needed here.”
Dr. Jolius was a urologist and our contact person for this mission. He recruited 40 patients through Facebook, WhatsApp, radio, and many local churches. He made all the arrangements for the patients, including their pre-op examinations, transportations, and post-op care. From second day on, he performed hydrocelectomies independently. Together we performed 55 hydrocelectomies, 5 inguinal hernia repairs.
Like Dr. Peterson, Dr. Jolius also came from a poor family. His family used to live on top of the mountain. There was no school nearby. He had to walk 6 hours to go to school. He had to stay with some Christian families during week days, and returned home in the weekend. On Sunday, he would bring food for the whole week back to the hosting families again. Life on the mountain was very hard. There was no reliable water source. People would have to go down the mountain to fetch water and carry it back up the mountain. The round trip often took 10 hours! He also was “adopted” to continue his education. He finished medical school in Haiti, did residency in France and in the US. He decided to come back to Haiti to serve his people. Now he works part-time in this surgical center, also part-time in Cape Haitian. Every month, he would offer one day free medical service back up the mountain where his family used to live.
V.J was the Vice CEO of this surgical center. He was not very tall, but very capable and humble. I did not know who he was, often saw him helping in pre-op and PACU, sometimes even fetch the stretcher to transport the patient from OR to PACU. He would mop the floor. I thought he was a sanitary worker. Who would have known he was a vice chairman!
We had two translators, Cerant was one of them. He was also a pastor of a local church. He translated pretty well, stayed with us whenever we needed him for translation, even late at night.
The hostess of the guest house was Claudette. She was a very kind and tall woman. She would make delicious food for us. If we finished the operation late, she would wait for us, and serve us warm food.
We met another chief for the first time today. She was a friendly and kind woman. Just before we left for the airport, she hurried to us, with two plastic bags. She opened the bags, and took out something wrapped. Those were our lunches. She knew there would be no food at the airport so she prepared lunch for us. I was touched by her kindness and my eyes were warm.
The hospital next to the surgical center was still under construction. It had internal medicine, pediatrics, gynecology, dentistry, laboratory and pharmacy on the first floor. This hospital was also sponsored by the Dr. Higgins foundation.
We met our last patient. He was a security guard. His wife was about to take him home. He had no pain from the surgery, no problem from anesthesia. He was very happy that soon he could work like other healthy people again.
We visited Lake Azuei before heading to the airport.
Through the 6-days journey, I gained some knowledge about Haiti and its people and I have fallen in love with it.
After the plane took off, I looked back once more. So long, Haiti. Next year I shall see you again.
