A Note from Dr. Edith Dreyfuss-Hudicourt

Dr. Edith Dreyfuss-Hudicourt

Below is a letter written by Dr. Edith Dreyfuss-Hudicourt, who is one of the founders of the Haitian Community Hospital.  Recently she travelled to Illinois to attend the wedding of her granddaughter.  This was her first trip out of Haiti since the earthquake six months ago, and her first break from working long hours at HCH.  Being surrounded by family, she felt moved to write to those who have supported the hospital and saved the hospital from bankruptcy, which is the current fate of many Haitian medical institutions.

Hello All,

From Willowbrook, Illinois, I think of all the people who generously helped our hospital provide care to so many earthquake victims after January 12th!

The assistance came so spontaneously from those who already knew the hospital (HCH) and the foundation (FHASE).  They started collecting supplies and money, created the website, and developed paths for donations.  It was the beginning of a long solidarity chain: close relatives, old friends, friends of relatives, friends of friends, work colleagues, school children, religious congregations, pharmaceutical companies, and so on.  All this saved us from bankruptcy.

Every day, medical volunteers treated hundreds of earthquake victims. Volunteers also helped handle and store water bottles and other emergency medical supplies that arrived daily in trucks.  Sometimes we did not know who sent these supplies, and there was no time to count and register everything.  Every inch of space was being used inside and outside the hospital.  Some unfinished rooms of the second floor with no doors or windows became storage rooms.

I must confess that seeing so many people coming to our assistance was the most comforting feeling in the midst of all the suffering we had to witness.

I feel so grateful to all of you!

I wish I could hug each of you!

Sincerely,

Dr. Edith Dreyfuss-Hudicourt