A Doctor Heads Out To Haiti On A Medical Mission

Dr. Terry Dietrich, an orthopedic surgeon from Appleton, and his wife, Jeannie, a retired nurse, are raising funds for Hopital Adventiste d'Haiti (HAH), where they will be working for the next year. The Dietrichs plan to start a charitable fund for the hospital's sustainability. Their goal is to raise at least $500,000. To contribute funds or for more information, email the Dietrichs at tj.dietrich99@gmail.com.

The following post was written by Kara Patterson and can be accessed in its entirety on the postcrescent.com website.

During short medical mission trips to Haiti in April and August, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Terry Dietrich and his wife, Jeannie, a retired nurse, cared for many patients whose injuries and conditions predated the island nation's January earthquake.

Among those patients was a 9-year-old girl whose neighbor had brought her to Hopital Adventiste d'Haiti (HAH), where the Appleton couple was working, to see if a doctor could correct the severe growth deformity that was causing her to become bowlegged.

"I'm amazed, there is this neighbor man, not even her family, and he brings her six hours to Port-au-Prince to see if some care can be given, not even knowing," said Terry Dietrich, 64, who has spent 39 years contributing time to medical missions — most often with his wife at his side — in developing countries such as Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Romania, El Salvador and a handful of African nations. "I said, of course, we can take care of her, and (the neighbor) started crying. It's things like this that really affected Jeannie and me, to see the hearts the Haitian people have for their own people and knowing we can take care of people like this."

When Terry's friend and orthopedics colleague, Dr. Scott Nelson, who had developed HAH from a small general hospital into a specialized center for orthopedic care after the earthquake, asked Terry to return to Haiti and run the hospital upon Nelson's scheduled departure, the Appleton couple agreed after careful consideration. They couldn't let the opportunities for orthopedic care for Haitians of all income levels leave the country with Nelson.