Last week saw one of the most devastating earthquakes in recent history. The island which is home to both Haiti and the Dominican Republic was hit with a magnitude 7 earthquake just west of Port-au-Prince. Photos show a scale of destruction reminiscent of war. Indeed, today I read the body count of those recovered and given burial has reached over 40,000 and expectations are for that number to reach over 100,000 dead. Something like this causes our own family and local situations to pale in comparison.
Shelley and I have received some generous donations to help us defray the medical costs incurred by Sam’s recent surgery. Most recently Sam had another visit to the pediatric GI specialist and we found out Sam needs to see a specialist in either Wisconsin or Ohio for some specialized tests that can’t be done in Spokane. Wow, that should run up the bills but how does it compare to Haiti?
In addition, Sam recently saw a dentist that specializes in Autistic children. Shelley walked away with a $4,000 estimate to repair cavities. Holy Cow! Evidently his teeth are a minefield of holes. So a new strain will be put on our pocketbook, a huge one we’d not anticipated. Sam hardly eats anything sugary but that doesn’t mean anything. But let’s put this into a perspective taking Haiti into consideration.
Entire buildings have collapsed in Haiti, trapping or killing anyone inside. The major sea port entry into Haiti has been shaken and is currently impassable, goods can’t be brought in very easily. Family members are dead or dying, bodies are piling up, food is becoming scarce, there isn’t any shelter, chaos is beginning to reign and the criminal element is taking over. The need there, is very great. What can we do?
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