(For now the group is sending information to me via e-mail and text and I'm posting for them. ~Marty Wynn)
The medical team from the Branson/Springfield area arrived in Haiti today, Saturday, March 27. They are Larry Page, Darin Talley, Shane Carder, Todd Round, Ryan Toliver and Billy Wynn. The guys left Springfield just after noon on Friday, taking a commercial flight. They were able to make it through security with all their equipment and they arrived in Ft. Lauderdale last night. Because of a flight delay in Springfield, they almost missed their connection in Atlanta. They were supposed to have a 40 minute layover, but the flight was 35 minutes late leaving Springfield. They ran through the airport to find a line at the gate where their flight was taking off, it was oversold. They barely made it on the flight because they already had their boarding passes--despite the booos from the line of people hoping to get on the sold out flight to Ft. Lauderdale (it's Spring Break). Their seats were about to be given away. The luggage didn't make the connection, though. The checked bags (with lots of medical supplies) finally made it to the hotel around 3 a.m. this morning. The guys left the hotel at 7:30 Saturday morning to meet the other people traveling with their group and take a private jet into Haiti.
Billy sent this post their first night, after arriving in Haiti and getting to Pierre Payen:
Hello from what used to be a third world country--what's left of it, anyway. Eye-opening would be an understatement about arriving here. We left Ft. Lauderdale Sat. a.m. I need to let Jason Schultz know that flying on a G4 is the only way to travel! We left from a private jet port with no security, no lines, and no inspections which was nice for the amount of equipment and drugs we had in tow. We had 2 planes going down, the G4 our team was traveling on and a King Air. The jet we were on was donated by Owens Glass company in Toledo, Ohio. There was a full buffet at the back of the plane and it was like the Last Supper. I felt like a camel storing up on liquids and food. We could see the tent cities in Haiti from many thousand feet in the air as our plane approached. We circled Port-au-Prince a few times because U.S. forces have given back control of Haiti's airspace. The heat and humidity hit us on the tarmac. We got thru customs without a hitch and then the fun started.
On our flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Haiti was a crew from 60 Minutes, a producer for Dan Rather who was following the story of a 12 year-old girl who got hit by bus 2 days after the earthquake. She had pelvic fractures and has been getting surgery and physical therapy in Florida since the accident. She was with us and the 60 Minutes crew filmed the travel and the reuniting with her parents in Pierre Payen.
After leaving the airport in Port-au-Prince, we had a 2-hour ride in the back of a cattle truck to Pierre Payen. With so much equipment and so many people, there was standing room only in the truck. We had many wind and sun burns. Trying to coordinate all of the people took some time in the chaos at the airport before we left Port-au-Prince. Everything moves at a slower pace with no immediate gratification. At times, the right palms have to be greased in order to get things done. But once we were out of Port-au-Prince, there was a since of relief in our group. The last hour of the trip was at the base of huge hills and mountains on the right and a stunning view of the ocean on the left. All is good. We'll share more about the compound where we're staying and the hospital tomorrow. We have 4 cases on tap for tomorrow. ~Billy
To read about the work that the medical team that was in Pierre Payen this past week did while they were there and to see their pictures, check out their blog at:
http://www.haititeam10.blogspot.com/
To read about Project-Help-Haiti, see that blog at:
http://www.project-help-haiti.blogspot.com/
Thanks for all of your prayers for this group! : ) Keep them covered! ~Marty
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