Harrison Ford arrived today with his plane. He flew from California with forced weather stops. He and his co-pilot Terry were exhausted. He will be spending the next few days shuttling Operation Smile medical team members and medical supplies in to Hinche, Haiti. This just shows what a generous human being he is. He wants to help and is able to make a significant difference in the lives of people here. The first surgeries should take place tomorrow afternoon.
What we have heard is that there are 30 surgical cases waiting for our team already. One small boy has severe burns over 30% of his body and will need skin grafts. Many people have lost limbs and will need a lot of physical therapy even after their wounds have healed. This is a different kind of mission for Operation Smile. They have come to Haiti to provide relief and medical assistance in a land where there is nothing. And they are training local doctors and nurses to do surgeries and provide care once they have gone.
Operation Smile has one team at a tent city of Fond Parisien. Another will be at Hinche where we are going in a few minutes. And a third team is on the USS Comfort, a medical ship anchored off shore in Port Au Prince.
I am not sure if I will be able to access the internet until later this week. Without a BlackBerry communication is difficult in this country at best.
Our team is terrific. We have one member from Denmark, 4 from Canada and the rest from the US, one is a Haitian-American. All hearty souls and dedicated to serving others. Well, we are about to fly out.
