Peds Ortho Docs Help in Haiti

News reports about Haiti were so jarring that two of the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital pediatric orthopaedic surgeons felt compelled to help. Drs. Joshua Hyman and Michael Vitale both rushed to the aid of victims of the devastating earthquake. "I had to do something," explained Dr. Hyman. "On day two of hearing the reports, I knew that I had to be there to help."

Dr. Hyman arranged to join Project MediShare, an organization with a 15 year history of providing medical and social services in Haiti. As such they had a strong political and social infrastructure from which to build on. Within days they had a 300 bed field hospital that was fully operational.

Calling around to various agencies Dr. Vitale independently found space on a flight leaving from Miami to the Dominican Republic, and from there found transportation to the areas worse hit. Dr. Vitale's flight was arranged through United Aid Foundation, an organization that provides direct aid to people in crises, and he worked alongside volunteers from Operation Smile, an organization devoted to providing free surgeries for children around the globe, and The Tico Torres Children Foundation, a charity developed to assist children in need.

The difficulties in getting to the site were compounded by the severe aftershocks that both doctors experienced while there. They worked non-stop at makeshift surgical sites, treating hundreds with fractures, crushed bones and performing amputations often without anesthesia. While the two doctors didn't see each other they shared similar experiences with their friends and families back home through e-mails and tweets. They were both impressed with the number of volunteers trying to help, although it sometimes created difficulties in getting supplies into the surgeons hands. The volume of people needing care was daunting, but each day the level of acuity seemed to abate. Both doctors reassured their own families that they were safe, and felt gratified and humbled that they were able to help so many.