| Lending a helping hand in Haiti |
By: Kurt Hildebrandt
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Posted: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 11:59 am
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ST. PETER — Understanding the devastation and tragic circumstances the nation of Haiti endured when an earthquake tore through that country in January is difficult for people in this area given it’s half a world away.
One St. Peter resident will be getting an up-close and first-hand account of some of the tragedy that takes place when she travels to work at a hospital on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, the capital city of the country hard hit by this terrible natural disaster.
Heidi Faul, Certified Nurse Practitioner at River’s Edge Hospital and Clinic, will be traveling with a group of 20 from her former church (Bethel Baptist Church in Minneapolis), where she lived before moving to St. Peter in August 2009. Faul’s group, which leaves on Saturday, will also include one doctor and 18 nurses who will providing relief support at a hospital there for about one week.
“I really have no idea what to expect when I get down there because all I’ve seen about what’s been going on in Haiti is through the news reports everyone else here has seen,” Faul said. “My goal is to survive and do well in helping the people down there the best that I can.
“Hurting people are hurting people where ever you go and that takes precedence over anything else when you go into a situation like this.”
One of Faul’s colleagues, Janet Nordstrom, a physical therapist at River’s Edge, is currently in Haiti providing physical therapy to amputees. She would have liked to have a chance to talk with her colleague before leaving, but she’ll have to wait to compare notes after she returns.
“It would be great to have a chance to speak to Janet before I leave, but I’ll be gone by the time she gets back,” Faul said. “I’m sure we’ll have a lot to talk about when we both get back.”
Serving those in need is nothing new for Faul as she has previous international nursing experiences doing post surgical work at Mercy Ships in Liberia, Africa, and similar work at the Lyari Community Development Center in Karachi, Pakistan.
“Just two days after the earthquake hit, I was sending out e-mails checking to see if any groups were going down there to see if I could help out in any way,” Faul said. “I didn’t find anything at first, but then I found out recently about a group going from my old church and, after checking with the administration here, I was cleared to go.
“Fortunately, because of my previous travels, all of my shots as well as my passport is up-to-date and I was to quickly arrange this trip.”
“My family (which includes her parents, two brothers and their wives along with a number of aunts, uncles and cousins) are all so supportive and encourage me in going to help those who are under-served. They make it so much easier to go and their encouragement allow me to keep positive about all the steps and risks that are involved in going overseas.
“I also am so blessed to have the support of the administration here. They were more than willing to work with me on making this possible.”
Faul and her group will travel by plane to the Dominican Republic and then travel by bus for eight hours before reaching their destination on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. The group will be bringing some medical supplies with them, but mostly what they will supply is their medical skills and expertise.
“There is a high level of infection down where we will be going and we’ll be working with people dealing with those issues and for whatever else they need us,” Faul said. “I do know we’ll be sleeping in tents that we’ll have to provide ourselves and, because of the shortage of shelter down there, they are asking that we leave the tents behind and hopefully others can use them.
“I’ve done some disaster relief work in the past, but nothing on the magnitude this probably will be. This is definitely going to be adventure and my only hope is to be able to help those people in some way.”
River’s Edge staff raises funds
Besides the opportunity for two of its staff to travel to Haiti to lend their support, other staff at River’s Edge Hospital and Clinic got involved recently through a special fundraiser in which they raised $1,079 to help earthquake victims there.
River’s Edge staff hosted a luncheon where tickets were sold and donations were also accepted. Employees donated the food which was served at the luncheon.
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