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Home from Haiti |
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Tue, Feb 2, 2010 05:43 PM CST
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Dr. Habib Rehman says there was no way he could have prepared himself psychologically for what he saw in Haiti.
"We went 2 weeks after the disaster and we were still seeing dead bodies in an advanced state of decomposition on the roads and on the footpaths," says Dr. Rehman.
Dr. Rehman is just back after a week in Haiti offering medical relief to quake victims.
"The feeling you get when you come back is partly guilt that you're leaving them in these dire circumstances and partly sometimes you feel your efforts are futile because of the scope of the disaster," explains Dr. Rehman.
The Red Cross says feelings like that are not uncommon.
"We just can't send anyone down there, without them fully being prepared for what they will see and experience," says Amanda Ulrich with the Canadian Red Cross.
Dr. Rehman was part of a team with an international organization called Humanity First.
"We were seeing 500-600 patients a day with a team of 16 doctors and support staff, paramedic staff and nurses," Dr. Rehman.
Humanity First still has doctors on scene, working in makeshift camps, under tents.
Most of the acute injuries have been treated but Haiti's health concerns are far from over.
"The risk of disease outbreak is high in those tents. There's no clean water and gastro-intestinal problems are going to be a major issue if they're not moved to a more permanent place, because the rainy season starts in April," says Dr. Rehman.
"We are moving into the rebuilding phase, so helping people get back on their feet, helping them build more permanent shelters instead of some of the very temporary ones that have been used up until this point," explains Ulrich.
Dr. Rehman may have left Haiti but his mind is still with the devastated country. He's helping organize a Haiti relief fundraiser this weekend.
For more information on the event, visit the Humanity First website at www.humanityfirst.ca.
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