Brian Reports in from Haiti

I would like to share a little update of what Brian and his crew has been experiencing down in Haiti. Here are some bits of an email he recently sent out and some pictures he took that are posted on the Coast Guard multimedia website:

“After that I got word that I would be leading a shore team to the Haitian CG base to help offload supplies from the Mexican Red Cross. While ashore we conducted roughly 25 medevacs with CG helos. The only best way to describe what is going on in Haiti is Organized Chaos. Anyways, I saw compound fractures, gangrene, burn patients, spinal fractures, skull fractures, heart and renal failure. You name a traumatic injury or a disease or injury caused by trauma and its here.”

“Tonight as I was writing up some paper work and intelligence reports one of my guys came in the room and started crying. I asked him what happened and he said they had a 2 week old baby die waiting for a medevac at our landing zone. He had burns on 80% of his body and probably wouldn't have made it anyways even if he had a medevac, but it finally hit some of our guys.”

I am really proud of the work of the Coast Guard and so many other organizations, groups, and individuals in Haiti. I am proud of Brian especially, but I might be a little biased about him, because I always think he is super duper! It is amazing to see people all around the world coming together to help this country and its people. I was watching the news about one Coast Guard boat down there that was literally taking ceiling tiles out of their boat and using them as makeshift splints for broken limbs. Brian said that he has slept 6 hours in the last 48 hours, but I have yet to hear a single complaint from him. I think seeing the situation, pain, and sorrow in these people’s lives really gives a new appreciation for our blessings here in America. Pray for everyone down there for the strength to continue in the relief efforts.