The Call for Help

January 16, 2010:

Got up this morning with a voicemail from Denise (our O.R. manager), "Vince, I need for you to call me back regarding something very important". I called her as soon as I got her message and she asked me if I was interested in going with her and 3 other medical personnel from our hospital over to the Dominican Republic for a week on behalf of COTN (Children of The Nations) to help provide aide to the victims of the recent earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Without any hesitation, I told her YES! I would go with her to help.

I was watching the news about the earthquake a night or two ago before her call and I wondered how I could help the victims over in Haiti. Things do happen for a reason. The call for help came and I was fortunate to have been asked to come along.

Preparing myself mentally for this trip was not easy. I didn't know what to expect. The only information given to me by Denise, is that the 5 of us who volunteered (Denise, RN, myself, CRNA, Walter, general surgeon, Linda, ER, RN, and Angelo, PA) were going to be providing medical aide on behalf of COTN (Children of The Nations). We were a part of about a dozen volunteers, who were put together by our team leader named Janet who is an RN in Frisbee, NH and all of us were going to be there to help provide medical aide in a hospital called, The Good Samaritan in Jimani, Dominican Republic which was at the Haitian border. For more information about COTN, go to COTNI.ORG