Local doc in Haiti: Disaster's scale impossible to comprehend
Another Puget Sound-area doctor is headed for Haiti - and expecting unimaginably horrendous conditions days after the poverty-stricken nation was crushed by a 7.0 earthquake.
Meanwhile, another Washington state doctor already in Port-au-Prince says, "I will never be able to comprehend the full scale of this disaster."
Dr. Ashok Shroff, a local anesthesiologist, departed Sunday for Haiti, where he hopes to bring pain relief to some of the thousands hurt by falling debris.
He knows the devastation is unimaginable, and the urgent need for medical help is overwhelming.
"It's going to be worse than I expect. I'm sure of that. I'm a little bit apprehensive," says Dr. Shroff, who is part of Medical Teams International.
He is heading right into the worst-hit areas of Haiti, where thousand of victims have been suffering since Tuesday - many with crushed limbs and broken bones.
"So I'm hoping to give pain relief and have those fractures fixed," he says.
He's leaving his job here as an anesthesiologist carrying his own food and water, because he doesn't want to be a burden on already scarce resources on the ground.
"I'm not expecting any kind of shelter. I'm expecting to operate in tents," he says. "I'm carrying a sleeping bag so I'll have someplace to ... sleep."
He's also expecting 12-hour days for at least seven straight days - but this isn't the the first time Dr. Shroff has been on front lines of disaster.
"I've been doing this since 2006, after the tsunami in Indonesia. I've been to Nigeria. I've been to Haiti in 2008 after the big hurricane devastated the fourth biggest city there," he says.
Medical Teams International already sent another Northwest team to Haiti earlier in the week. That team included Dr. Dan Diamond of Bremerton, who is keeping a blog of his experiences.
Dr. Diamond said his team ran into unexpected difficulties trying to find an operating room to perform surgeries.
"Without functioning operating rooms many of these people will be dead in a matter of days," he wrote in his blog.
By Sunday night the team was able to perform surgeries, but they weren't always successful.
"This evening I helped to amputate the foot of an 11-year-old boy but he later died. His mother lost his sister in the quake as well," Dr. Diamond wrote.
"She was numb and just sat there. Non-verbally I tried to communicate with her that I cared. Our eyes locked and I knew she knew that I cared and that we did all we could."
Dr. Diamond said conditions are so appalling it is hard to describe.
"The smell is horrific and overwhelming," he wrote. "I know I will never be able to comprehend the full scale of this disaster."
Meanwhile, another Washington state doctor already in Port-au-Prince says, "I will never be able to comprehend the full scale of this disaster."
Dr. Ashok Shroff, a local anesthesiologist, departed Sunday for Haiti, where he hopes to bring pain relief to some of the thousands hurt by falling debris.
He knows the devastation is unimaginable, and the urgent need for medical help is overwhelming.
"It's going to be worse than I expect. I'm sure of that. I'm a little bit apprehensive," says Dr. Shroff, who is part of Medical Teams International.
He is heading right into the worst-hit areas of Haiti, where thousand of victims have been suffering since Tuesday - many with crushed limbs and broken bones.
"So I'm hoping to give pain relief and have those fractures fixed," he says.
He's leaving his job here as an anesthesiologist carrying his own food and water, because he doesn't want to be a burden on already scarce resources on the ground.
"I'm not expecting any kind of shelter. I'm expecting to operate in tents," he says. "I'm carrying a sleeping bag so I'll have someplace to ... sleep."
He's also expecting 12-hour days for at least seven straight days - but this isn't the the first time Dr. Shroff has been on front lines of disaster.
"I've been doing this since 2006, after the tsunami in Indonesia. I've been to Nigeria. I've been to Haiti in 2008 after the big hurricane devastated the fourth biggest city there," he says.
Medical Teams International already sent another Northwest team to Haiti earlier in the week. That team included Dr. Dan Diamond of Bremerton, who is keeping a blog of his experiences.
Dr. Diamond said his team ran into unexpected difficulties trying to find an operating room to perform surgeries.
"Without functioning operating rooms many of these people will be dead in a matter of days," he wrote in his blog.
By Sunday night the team was able to perform surgeries, but they weren't always successful.
"This evening I helped to amputate the foot of an 11-year-old boy but he later died. His mother lost his sister in the quake as well," Dr. Diamond wrote.
"She was numb and just sat there. Non-verbally I tried to communicate with her that I cared. Our eyes locked and I knew she knew that I cared and that we did all we could."
Dr. Diamond said conditions are so appalling it is hard to describe.
"The smell is horrific and overwhelming," he wrote. "I know I will never be able to comprehend the full scale of this disaster."
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