One year ago, a devastating earthquake rocked
Haiti... local nurse Kim McCann recalls her
experiences after arriving to help the suffering

Kim McCann joined hundreds of volunteers to travelled
to Haiti to help the people.

On January 12, 2010 a catastrophic 7.0 earthquake shook Haiti to its very core... reducing this city of millions to a mass of rubble and broken bodies. More than 230,000 people died during the quake, with another 300,000 injured.

More than one million people became homeless instantaneously. As graphic images of human suffering streamed through television sets everywhere, local nurse Kim McCann had an epiphany, hearing for the first time in her life a strong inner voice that said “you need to go to Haiti”.

Kim, a palliative care nurse and certified fitness instructor, had never imagined being immersed in the quagmire of Haiti. For a moment she questioned her sanity, but knew she had to push herself out of her comfort zone to do a greater good. “I was absolutely terrified...petrified. I have a phobia against flying, can’t cope with heat and knew I was putting my life on the line for this mission” states Kim, her words thick with conviction. But the voice never wavered, driving her to search for a way to become involved... a way to help the helpless.

Her warmth, humour and positive attitude endears her to her terminally ill patients. “I can talk easily about death.. I am comfortable in these types of situations”. Kim herself is also a cancer survivor, having beaten melanoma when she was just fourteen years old. Clearly, such skills are a gift and her chosen profession a calling; all qualities that would greatly assist her on her journey to Petionville.

She shared her inner thoughts with her husband, John, and daughter, Alix. “John was very supportive and encouraged me to do what I needed to do” states Kim. She began surfing the web for ways to become involved and discovered the Canadian Medical Assistance Team, a grassroots organization of medical professionals dedicated to providing care and dignity to those in need.

Kim applied on-line to be considered for a volunteer position. “I got the paperwork done, had the vaccinations, finalized my will and planned my funeral” she says with a weary laugh. A waiver must be signed before you leave, indicating you are acutely aware of the danger you face.

“I was virtually signing my life away... Haiti is beautiful but can be a volatile, unpredictable and dangerous environment, especially for visitors”. She was literally preparing to not return, crying a lot and spending precious time with her loved ones. “You never know when you’ll get the call to go. I was told it might be months, but within a few weeks of filing my application I got the call... it was May 11 and I’d be leaving in just two weeks”. She had to come up with the $1,000 plane fare, but in just two days her generous friends and family donated enough to cover the cost!

“The weeks leading up to my departure were just awful. I was terrified... I had some idea of what I was facing, yet no idea at all” stated Kim emotionally. “Normally I take medication if I have to fly, due to my paralyzing fear, but this time I couldn’t”. She felt she had to be alert and ready to face the emergency in Haiti head on and was determined to overcome any obstacle in her way. As she boarded the plane for the seven hour flight, she just kept telling herself “this is nothing compared to what the Haitian people have faced during the earthquake. I can get on this plane and manage” her voice unwavering.

She prayed continually, “give me the strength,” and perspired... a lot! “It was far, far worse than I expected,” Kim stated glumly.

After disembarking from the plane she encountered utter confusion. “It was so loud, you were immediately bombarded. There were people everywhere, there was no space.”

The smell was horrific; a vile stench of rotten garbage, human waste and death. How can it still be so bad here, 5 months later? Rubble was everywhere, as if the devastation were mere hours old.

She and five additional nurses were whisked away from the airport, escorted by five armed guards to the town of Petionville. They drove along what she describes as a “road of hell.”
Throngs of villagers clung to the heaps of rubble that lined the sides of the makeshift roadway. Utter despair and devastation abounded at every turn. All Kim kept muttering to herself was “how can they live like this? Where do we go from here? Can I really help?”

They were to become part of the Jenkins/Penn Haitian Relief Organization rescue effort for the next seven days. “Petionville is the hub from which we operated; the J/P HRO camp looked exactly like the TV show MASH”. In that area alone, there are fifty-eight thousand displaced people, all living in an area the size of a nine-hole golf course.

The team was comprised of one doctor, several nurses and paramedics and interpreters, whom Kim calls “lifesavers”. Their goal was to provide primary care to a multitude of cases. “We saw mumps, malaria, malnutrition, infected amputations, horrible depression, anxiety and attempted suicides.”

Numerous women presented with complications as a result of self-induced abortions. Domestic abuse and rape cases frequented the clinic. Only two years ago was rape made illegal in Haiti; that issue, along with domestic violence, remains a persistent threat in the region.

There are hundreds of kids everywhere. Every day someone would beg her to take the children they took in when they encountered a hungry, orphaned child. “The burden was tremendous on the survivors; trying to find a way to feed their own children, and the others they adopted along the way” stated Kim sadly.

“It may be a third world country, but they feel the same as we do. It’s not our ‘right’ to be Canadian, it was luck.” Of this belief Kim is deeply passionate. “These people are us... they really are us. They feel and think and grieve and hope exactly like we do”.

Spirituality plays a significant role in Haitians ability to cope. “They are amazing, selfless, patient, thankful people; despite all their suffering”.

Kim shared a story to reflect the demeanour of so many Haitians. “A sick woman waited for hours to see a dentist, in fifty-plus degree heat, in horrible pain due to a dental abscess and infection” (a common dilemma) Sadly, Kim was told the dentist was not due in the area for another week and approached the woman to tell her the news.

“I cried having to tell her the dentist was not coming. She held my hand and smiled and said it was ok; she was amazing and I was in awe of her strength and kindness”.

I couldn’t help but ask if the experience changed Kim in some way, and would she one day return to Haiti? “I wouldn’t say I was changed so much as my beliefs were confirmed,” she stated resolutely. “We all are the same, regardless of where you live. It’s the luck of the draw that determines your nationality. We should all be so thankful to live in Canada”.

She comes away with one last gift, relaying a story about a young, single, pregnant woman who arrived at the clinic ready to give birth. The woman had nowhere to live, no food, no family and nothing to care for her newborn. Haitian women tend to not breastfeed, using formula or feeding them whatever scraps of food they have. As a result, many babies are malnourished and if left unchecked, can develop cholera and die within hours.

Kim managed to secure a permanent tent for the woman and when her baby girl arrived, she named her “Kimmie” after the beloved nurse who saved her. “I gave her everything I had before I left, all my clothes, toiletries, blankets... it was the best feeling in the world,” Kim recalled jubilantly.

As a professional, Kim felt complete fulfillment and a deep sense of well-earned pride.

What is it that we can take away from this experience; what is it that we can learn from the suffering of another? Do we think of others enough? Do we give all we can? What assumptions do we make of others, based on our own ignorance? What of thankfulness.. .selflessness... bravery? What kind of holiday will it be for the thousands and thousands of displaced Haitians?

To learn more about the organization Kim travelled with to Haiti, go to www.jphro.org . You can make a donation there as well!

By Tammy Horvath
Focus on Scugog