Haitian nursing student applies skills at home

Winston-Salem State has several student organizations coming to Haiti's aid following the 7.0  magnitude earthquake  which devastated  the country Jan. 12. 

  But at least one WSSU student is making a difference personally.

Just four days after her native country was destroyed,  Fathia-Anna Davis, a senior nursing major  returned to Haiti with a medical team, including an anesthesiologist and two certified registered nurse anesthetists from Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. 

 Davis spoke about her experiences to an intercultural communication class Feb. 15.

Davis said that the Double Harvest Mission Clinic, where the team worked, could not accommodate all injuries.  

Medical staff could not do anything for spinal or gastrointestinal injuries, pelvic fractures or neurosurgeries, she said.  

Her "team" accompanied patients to the naval ship, USS Comfort, docked in Port-au-Prince to receive thorough care. 

At the clinic, Davis said, the team performed surgeries, amputations and wound care and local carpenters constructed crutches, wheelchairs, and splints.  

Medical students from the Dominican Republic and Haiti assisted in operating and recovery rooms.  Haiti's Toussaint L'ouverture International Airport, was inaccessible at the time, so Davis' medical team flew in through the Dominican Republic.  

Before Davis' medical team arrived, operating rooms were not functional because there were no anesthesiologists to run the equipment she said. 

When not volunteering at the clinic, Davis returned to her parents' village to search for them.  She said she has not heard from them since the quake.  

"I remain hopeful that some people, including my parents, are just displaced," Davis said.

"They could be in a village or some type of medical camp."  

  Davis was unable to  conceal her emotions, tearing up as she spoke of her parents and the desolation of her country. 

 "It weighs heavy on my heart to hear the pain in her voice and to see the hurt on her face," said Rashad Little, a senior English major from High Point.

Haiti is the poorest and least developed countries in the western hemisphere.  It is ranked 154 out of 177 underdeveloped countries by the United Nations.  

"I think it was important for my students to hear not only what the media outlets are saying about the tragedy in Haiti, but also hear the voice of a fellow classmate who has family ties in that country," said Andrea Patterson, speech communication instructor.