WORD OUT! The Blog to Build a New Society

Three weeks ago, on the same day as Haiti experienced its devastating earthquake, I broke my wrist. Not a bad break, but painful, and enough to send me into town to get treated in Emergency. The injury caused enough of a disruption in my routine that I actually didn't hear of the Haitian disaster until much later. So while I sat waiting for treatment, my thoughts were not on the tragedy that had struck so many, but rather on my own selfish concerns - how inconvenienced I was, how much discomfort I was in, etc. Nothing but whining really, whining from my position of incredible privilege.

I spent a few hours in Emergency, and emerged with a cast, a prescription, and orders to arrange a follow-up visit with my family doctor. The care I received was compassionate, caring, and professional, and served to remind me of how lucky I am to live in a country with universal health care.

A couple of days ago while listening to the CBC, I heard a story about medical care in Haiti. The physician being interviewed was saying that since his arrival he had found that he was performing a heartbreaking number of amputations - many as a result of secondary infections and gangrene that would have been preventable in other circumstances. A child's broken bone that in Canada would have been relatively uncomplicated, in the context of the chaos in Haiti, could easily result in the loss of a limb for life.

And what kind of life will a Haitian amputee have? It's not an easy life in Haiti if you have two arms and two legs.

For me, this just serves to underscore the fact that it is critical not to forget what is happening in Haiti. With our global attention span measured in nanoseconds, how can we remain focused on the work that needs to be done there, not just in the coming weeks, but months and years? And how will we balance the needs of Haiti when the next disaster happens and massive aid is needed elsewhere.

I think the key is in remembering that we are a global village - in remembering that what happens to our neighbours could just as easily happen to us. My broken wrist - a minor inconvenience in Canada - could have been so much worse in another time or place. In taking care of Haiti, we must remember we are taking care of our own.