Soon after arriving in Cité Militaire NYCMedics mobile medical team learned of a young girl with grave injuries whose parents feared she was going to die. They found her in the back of a makeshift camp listless, dehydrated and deteriorating from her injuries.
Living in an open field peppered with hundreds of donated tents and sweltering in the Caribbean heat, 10-year-old Madeline was suffering. She was injured after her home collapsed on top of her in the catastrophic 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti. Her injuries were numerous and severe including an open skull fracture, multiple long bone fractures, and several deep lacerations that were beginning to show signs of infection.
Despite the critical nature of Madeline’s health and her young age, she had been sent home by the overwhelmed local hospital in Port-au-Prince without receiving any care. Within moments of being found by NYCMedics, Madeline began to receive lifesaving care she desperately needed. The team was able to stabilize her for medical evacuation, however, her parents feared she would again be turned away from the hospital. After hours of relentless phone calls and networking, NYCMedics was able to secure Madeline a surgical spot that same night with a Swiss surgical unit. Within hours, Madeline received the surgical care she needed, and in time, her injuries would heal.
