my story

I want to share my experience during these last weeks in Haiti. No one would like to life these experiences cause it too hard.


My experiences during the earthquake en Haiti help me
Learning a lot about life, fortune and God
And also I could find the answer about two important subjects:
1- I understand why God wanted me to become a nurse as a Christian.
2- And why He save me that day (January 12, 2010)
My dream and God’s desire
Since I was born I was a Christian, early in school I had a goal for my life, I wanted to become an engineer. But it was not God’s plan for me. After school I had all the possibility to be admitted to a public engineer school because I am very good on math, physics and chemist, it’s all that you need to pass the exam. For a reason I couldn’t know, they asked me to go to a nursing school. I did agree with them after one year and then I went to the nursing School. I fins I was at the nursing school, I finish my program of nursing well. But since all the years I was at the N. School, I keep thinking about why I went there? I couldn’t find the answer, sometime I am made with myself, like when I meet my friends from High school whose engineer or doctor or agronomist…
“I was fighting against God desire, because sometime it’s really hard to know what God wants you to do and you stay where you want but not where God wants or where you supposed to be, that was my struggle for a long time”
One hour before the earthquake
One day, January 12, the darkness day, I was at the nursing School since 1:00 pm, until 4:00 pm I was working at the library on something that I wanted to prepare for Hilda to share with the Senior at the nursing school on Monday, and also I was talking with one of the graduate nurse from the Nursing school who died on that day in the street, in Léogâne (Angela). After a long research I felt that I was tired and most the time I am tired after a long day of work or homework, I always go to play soccer. It’s exactly what I did that day; I left the nursing school (FSIL), I go to my house to get my staff to play soccer. I take my bicycle and then I ride myself to the soccer field. Normally it’s took me less than10 mns to go to the soccer field on motorcycle, it’s was not common to go on bicycle, it a too long way cause Haitian like taking motorcycle, but that day I wanted to ride my funny bike without knowing why. It was about 4: 45 pm, I was riding my bike In a road that I don’t make all the time and where I could see a lot of “voodoo” temple (place where voodoo’s priest makes their ritual) And all of a sudden, one of the priest called me and asked me to let him try my bicycle. With no fear, no question I give him the bike and I watching him riding my bike, after he came and asked my name;
“It’s strange, why I left FSIL at 4:00 with the destination to go to play soccer, soccer field? Why I took my bike but not a motorcycle,( take more time)? Why this voodoo’s priest wanted to stop me in my way to try my bike?”
He asked me about my faith in God, I tell him about the bible, and I asked him the signification of the pictures I saw in the wall of his temple; it’s took me about 10 mns to continue my way to the soccer field, I go faster this time because it was late and I wanted to play. 4 mns later I could see the soccer field; I was close, talking with a friend in front of his house, where I always go to change before playing.
The earthquake,
I was going to enter in my friend house to change when one old woman said in Creole: “kouran mezanmi kouri!!!” that’s mean in English: “everybody get out of here electricity” I do the best to run to leave my position, but it was very difficult cause it was like something wanted to push me away and another to hold me. Two seconds later I could see the house collapsed and the heart was opening I could feel the earth shaking intensely and I heard people crying loudly from fear or from injuries…I was in the road by the soccer field, I lived this situation for 45 seconds.
I couldn’t understand what was happening. First I thought about the end of the days. Then I say to the lord: If it is the end and I am still alive that’s I have a chance to be in the heaven. It’ true that I didn’t have any fear. Two mns after the earthquake, one 7.3, I was at the soccer field. I was the first there; the after chocks came immediately after the first minute. A few minute later I saw some people coming at the soccer field; crying, dirty some safe and some with big injuries. I was the only one that was clean between them. One of them, a Christian, was talking about the revelation from the Bible, the apocalypse.
First patient, fears and first prayer after the earthquake
I had a little fear when I saw the water coming out side of the wells and from the earth. Because one month I saw a movie which describes everything that I saw that day, it was: 2012 The Doom’s day. I thought about an eventual tsunami and also that the earthquake was general, over the world. I took my phone trying to call home and I found no signal from my network, I was very afraid for them, my family. I remember I left my cousins, my brother’s wife, my brothers and some friend watching TV inside the house. My brother’s wife, one of my brothers is pregnant and she lives at the first floor at home. I also thought about my family in the states and also my fiancé and her family.
It was serious, in like 5 mns I could see about 100 people at the field. Some standing with little cut some lying with real injuries and some with no trauma but dirty. I asked them to sit in the middle of the field to avoid the trees from the corner of the soccer field. The first people I touch were a girl, about 17 years old she was bleeding from her head and her members. I make some pressure to stop the bleeding and adopt some appropriate position and clean the wounds as possible I could and I told them what happened. A lot of people needed care; kids, adults old… it was the first time that my eyes could see something like that and each minute it’s become worst. My first prayer was:
“Dear God, I know that if I am alive it’s not because I am lucky but because you want me to leave, like you wanted me to become a nurse, because these people need me as a nurse and as a Christian. Thank you for protecting me and using me to save some of brothers and sisters. Forgive me for my sins, Give me faith and strength. Thank you for the Cross.
Amen.
After that prayer I had no fears and I wanted to go in the street and go home to see my family, after stabilized the most I could the patients in that village I was, I went with a couple the mom was crying at the ground and the dad took his 18 month daughter under a big brick from his house which collapsed into the kid who was sleeping inside. I could see that she was died. Check the jugular pulse and the respiration…nothing… she died. It was sad, it was my first death and about 40 others were waiting for at the nursing school that became a Hospital and a tents city now. I made CPR for her and we took a motorcycle me and the dad and we drive to the town to find an hospital cause it’s true that I know she was died but sometime…we are still on the Moto and I keep giving her some cardiac massage. Then I could see houses collapsed and people sitting by the road side asking for care, I didn’t have any supplies with me; no gloves, no bandage…nothing. It was terrified. I wanted to cry but God gave me strength and I was very strong. Behind the father I sat, carry the death and when we arrived to the hospital, the building was also collapsed with all the medical team inside, that was unimaginable. Everything gone, school, public like private; churches; public offices; houses; police station… I was very strong that day because I was not alone. Sudden I remember my family. I put the baby in the ground; I remove my shirt and cover the body. And ask the father to be strong. And then I walked to my house. Sometime, in the road, I close my eyes because I couldn’t watch that I saw. I was walking in the city and I couldn’t recognize any area because everything disappeared. Some building still had people alive inside and other people tried to put them out. Me I was very concern about my house and my family. What happen to them?
How God bless my family
I was asking to myself how I will live the next 5 mns where I will be at home. The streets were close because of the fragments of the collapsed building. And it’s took me a while to be behind my house. And by where I was, I could see the top of my house, which means that it ‘still stands. I was smiling a little bit. Then I arrived to my house, I saw one of my brothers that were watching TV, he was safe. I embrace him and we cried together. After I asked him how everybody is. And he said that they are well. I ask him if no one has a any injuries. He said that everything was fine.
My mission (from God), the nursing school
And I told him everything I saw in my way. And then I tell him that I have to go to the nursing school to see what happen to the student and the Dean of the school. When I arrived to the nursing school, the first people I saw were Hilda, the Dean of the school. She embraced me and we were crying together. And immediately after, I was watching the campus. Hundreds of people were coming from the entire city asking for care.ith all kind of injuries. It was sad, because before the earthquake we didn’t have any real hospital, then it makes the situation worst. We are a nursing school, it true that we might help but we need supplies. So any way, God knew what we needed and He provided us some supplies and the strength we needed to do the best we could for these people. Since 6:30 pm we took care of patients the day of the earthquake until 2: am. It was a long night. We put some sheet in the ground of the school and tried to fall asleep, but it was impossible because the aftershock made us scared…
First day after the event
The sick people sleep in the ground with their families. The day after was so sad. Many people cried because some patients died after they slept. Some people died from head trauma, internal bleeding or other problems. Early in the morning we go for a visit, me and a nurse from the states t
The lesson I learned with the earth quake

I want to talk about three things concerning the earthquake I lived in Haiti. Fortune, life and God. Which is the most important things I needed to have in my life? If I asked one population of people that question, I would have a lot of answer; some people would say that the like they life, they don’t want to die or they don’t want to lose the nice car they just bought and some will not negotiate their faith in God and would gave everything only to serve God.
That day, I knew these three dimensions;
After the big shaking, remember I was on bicycle before the earthquake happened, I wanted to ask one kid who close to me to get my bike for me cause I thought that they could steal it. I didn’t know why I thought about that, but it was the fortune time. It’s why a lot of people die; after the earthquake they go inside the house to get staff and the big aftershocks finished the house and killed them, so sad. Some other tried to open some office to steal money or supplies and they disappeared with the building. A lot of people died because they wanted to get Rich that day or to save their fortune or for some other reason…
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