On October 4, 2016, the category 4-strength storm, Hurricane Matthew, swept through Haiti killing more than 800 people and leaving thousands displaced and living in temporary shelters. The winds gusted to 230 km/h, with heavy rain and flooding, causing massive damage to infrastructure and the environment. This not only destroyed people's homes, businesses, crops, and livestock; it also increased the risk of waterborne diseases, such as malaria.

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Due to roadway damage, people were not able to quickly get into major cities that got hit, such  as Jérémie, or the smaller towns further out, such as Carcasse. Father Verdieu, of Carcasse, shared with us his experience during the hurricane, and the extremes he had to go to in order to find help for the people there. While they knew that a hurricane was coming, they did not know how bad it was going to be. Father Verdieu explained that as the storm began people fled their homes, leaving everything behind, to come up to his rectory and the school building right next store. While this provided better safety than staying in their homes, many people still sustained injuries and a few lost their lives while running away from the storm or having debris fall on them. Even the buildings they sought shelter from were not immune to the storm and almost the entire top story of the school was destroyed. Once the storm passed the dangers continued – many people were injured, and crops, and livestock had all been washed away. After waiting for a couple weeks they realized that help was not going to come to them fast enough. Father Verdieu and another man walked for two full days and nights to seek help. Even four months later, when our team arrived, one could clearly see that the aid that made it to larger cities never made it out to places like Carcasse.

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During our time in Carcasse, we set up a medical clinic each day to see as many patients as possible before we lost light in the evening. We were able to see approximately 150 patients each day, and returning providers were relieved to see many people that they met in previous years while on these missions. Unfortunately, there were also many people missing; and we learned that after the storm, many people left to stay with family and friends in other towns which had sustained less damage or received more aid. The providers saw many people with normal aches and pains, but for many, the injury occurred four months ago, during the hurricane. There were likely many people with injuries that never were able to be seen or helped until this time. Common injuries were broken, bones, that without prober medical treatment, healed in a poor, disorganized way. This may cause pain and dysfunction for the rest of their lives. Just as in the rest of the world, there were many people in need of medications for simple conditions such as: hypertension, acid reflux, diabetes, infections, fungi, to name a few. We were able to help people with these conditions due to the generosity of Brother's Brother Foundation, whose mission is “to promote international health and education through the efficient and effective distribution and provision of donated medical, education, agricultural and other resources.” They provided a large amount of commonly prescribed medications so that patients could get their medications right there at the clinic. This allowed for coordination between the physicians and pharmacists to ensure safety and quality care.

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There were also some patients who needed more intensive care that would need to be covered by a visit to the hospital. Through the partnership with Health and Education for Haiti, these patients were able to travel to the necessary hospital and receive the care that they needed. There were patients with new conditions, such as a baby with bilateral clubbed hands and feet. This baby will need an extensive evaluation to determine the plan of action and likely new orthotics every two weeks as the baby grows. This baby ignited a new partnership with The Haiti Clubfoot Program in Port-au-Prince, as part of the Global Clubfoot Initiative. There were also patients who had been seen before and needed hospital visits at that time. We were able to see the difference those interventions made and determine if anything else was needed. For example, there was a little boy last year who needed a shunt to drain the build up of cerebral spinal fluid in the spaces of his brain. This causes the head to swell, and can cause a spectrum of impairments, from motor abnormalities to intellectual disability. When the child returned to clinic this year he had received his stunt and the difference was clearly noticeable. While it is a condition that will need to be continuously monitored, he was able to start the relationship with the correct physicians in Haiti that will provide that care.