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Transcript

In 2010 I was a member of the Church-sponsored medical team providing care in Haiti after the earthquake. We'd been there for about a week, and on one particular day, some of our medical team, we were on our way to the Carrefour ward meetinghouse. The traffic was so bad because of the roads that were destroyed through the earthquake, it was really taking a long time for us to get over to this meetinghouse. We realized we only had about 45 minutes to do any type of clinic there, which really is about enough time to set it up and then take it back down again. And we debated whether we should make the trip out there or if we should just turn around and show up early to this other meetinghouse that would be waiting for us later in the day. And we decided, "Let's just go ahead and move forward and meet there at the meetinghouse." When we arrived at the meetinghouse, we really didn't see any acute medical needs at first. I had been there for about 10 minutes. And then in comes this little boy. And he is in this little crude litter that had been made out of sticks and clothing, and it was very makeshift. I thought, as I looked at this little boy, that he would probably lose his hands. Looking at him, he looked to be very sick. His bones were exposed. He had lacerations so deep that we could see the bones, and even the tissue surrounding was necrotic, black and dead. He had lacerations on each side of his torso and his head. He also had a really high fever. By the time we got him, it appeared that he was septic. He was burning up, full of infection. I think he may have had two days, if that, before he would have passed because he was so sick. I knew we had to take him to the hospital right then and there. So I bandaged him and cleaned all of his wounds, and I gave him some antibiotics. I also wrapped him up. And I remember that he just held on really tight to me. And I could tell that he was scared and he wasn't sure what was happening. He didn't speak or understand English. But I just kept telling him that I loved him and that I would take care of him. We wrapped up the clinic very soon after and made our way over to the university hospital. During the ride, I asked one of the doctors who was in the backseat if he would give the baby a priesthood blessing, and he did. And he did it in Creole. You know, we heal with our hands, but there's also a healing that we have access to that comes in times of need. When we went into the pediatric ward, we were met by Swiss doctors. And without even looking at the baby's wounds, they told me that they had not lost an arm yet, nor had they lost a foot in all of their surgical procedures that they had done in Haiti. As I was getting ready to go, I looked into his big brown eyes and I told him, "We love you, and you're going to be taken care of." And I left him in the care of doctors. I am grateful that the Lord led us to him and that the members were in tune enough to find him and to bring him to us. I have every hope and belief that he will go on to live a productive life if that is His will.

Welfare Timeline—The Power of Love

Description
Elizabeth Howell recounts an experience she had while giving aid after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
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