Hope In Haiti

This update was originally posted on the SIGN International blog.  Dr Zirkle has personally visited Hopital Adventiste d'Haiti and SIGN has already provided that facility with two sets of nails.  SIGN International is an exceptionally well run organization and worthy of your donation.

In the immediate aftermath of the of the earthquake that devastated Haiti on January 12, there was little evidence that hope could arise from the rubble and destruction that permeated Port-au-Prince. After all, much of the Haitian capital’s infrastructure was brought to the ground. Among the casualties was the city’s medical community with hospitals destroyed and medical personnel lost to the quake.

But as we approach the two-month mark since the earthquake, we found during our second trip to Haiti that there is reason for optimism and evidence that hope is on the rise. SIGN, along with other humanitarian organizations, has begun to lay the foundation for a re-built medical community with surgeons trained in 21st century orthopaedic techniques and equipped with the appropriate tools and instruments.

During the two trips to Haiti following the earthquake, Dr. Lewis G. Zirkle Jr. and SIGN CEO Jeanne Dillner worked in 10 hospitals or clinics treating victims and teaching the SIGN technique to surgeons. During their stays, they gained the trust of the patients as well as the medical personnel. They left behind SIGN sets and nails, ensuring that appropriate treatment of fractures patients would continue into the future.