Suze was a typical patient-- young, attractive, well spoken, and dying. Suze is Haitian and poor and when Maria and I saw her several years ago, she was very thin and barely able to walk due to severe shortness of breath with any exertion. Her heart exam revealed her mitral valve was not working right. She did not have long to live.
She told us how, not long before seeing us, she passed out one day and woke up on a gurney in and emergency department of a small hospital near her home in one of the slums of Port-au-Prince. She was staring out the slats of a window at her friends that were staring in at her. They had carried her limp body to the hospital after she had lost consciousness and taken up a collection of money to get her admitted for medication to treat her heart failure.
Suze survived and came back to the U.S. with us for a mitral valve replacement. Surgical intervention is usually necessary with people like Suze to give them long term relief from their symptoms. After surgery, her personality changed from someone who was waiting for death, to someone who is very happy to be alive.
In Haiti we hear this complaint all of the time: “I can’t walk up the mountain anymore”. Usually it is not from old people but from teenagers that have come to the clinic and have rheumatic heart disease. It breaks your heart to see these kids suffering so much. They want to go to school and be like normal kids--but they can’t due to their sick hearts.
Rheumatic heart disease has been around as long as strep throat has afflicted humanity. For some reason when one gets strep throat, the immune system can attack the heart, joints, brain, and skin. “Antigenic mimicry” and nasty strains of streptococcus are argued as possible causes for rheumatic fever, but no one knows for sure why some people get strep throat and do fine, and others are crippled with its sequelae. Any part of the heart can be attacked and damaged. We examine kids that had acute acute rheumatic fever when they were much younger and show up when they are 18 years old with valves that are destroyed.
The mitral valve is the valve most likely injured in rheumatic fever and may not close well or may not open well or a combination of both. These kids are in a world of hurt because as they years pass, they become unable to do much requiring physical activity because their lungs fill with fluid.
Rheumatic fever is a major public health problem in many developing countries like Haiti. Two-thirds of the world’s population is considered poor and this is where rheumatic fever is found. The magnitude of rheumatic fever in the developing world is the same as in the United States 60 years ago---before widespread use of penicillin. Rheumatic fever is not gone in the United States, but it is not the first thing I think of in an American kid who presents with joint complaints and fever.
There is a real danger that research regarding atherosclerosis in the developing world will divert resources and attention from rheumatic heart disease, cardiomyopathies, and tuberculous pericarditis. These are the three major causes of heart disease in Haiti and Africa. Of the nearly 2.4 million children with rheumatic heart disease living in developing countries, nearly half live in sub-Saharan Africa. According to Lancet, June 10, 2006, “They cause great morbidity and mortality in young, economically active people, but with isolated exceptions, they are largely neglected targets of epidemiological, etiological, and therapeutic research.”
The Lancet continues, “Eradication of rheumatic fever depends on social changes, including improved primary health-care services, elimination of poverty, better housing, and application of existing knowledge on primary and secondary prevention of the disease”.
There are many patients in Haiti that we are treating for rheumatic heart disease. Few will make it out for definitive surgical repair.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Health Disparities Between Races
June 17, 2006
In the USA, race and ethnicity are major factors predicting who will live a long life and who will not.
Lancet, June 10, 2006, reports that, "The life expectancy of an African-American man is 69 years, whereas that of a white man is 75.3. Infant mortality is 5.75 per 1000 livebirths for white infants, 14 for African-American infants.
Buried in Cement
June 17, 2006
The Miami Herald reported a story on May 27, 2006 titled “Embassy Denies Visa for Funeral”.
Menes Daniel, who left Haiti in 1981, died entombed in quick-drying liquid cement in a construction accident in early May. He and two other workers were working in the Bal Harbour high-rise building when the roof collapsed, sending a torrent of wet concrete over them. They died almost immediately.
Mr. Daniel’s funeral was scheduled for June 3 and his common-law wife and two children in Haiti applied for a temporary visa to attend his funeral.
The non-immigrant visa section of the American Consulate in Port-au-Prince denied their request for visas. His Haitian family were unable to provide any evidence of “ties to Haiti that would compel their return from the U. S.” They could not prove they had assets in Haiti to come back to from the U.S. Mr. Daniel had been wiring his family money for years so they could survive in Haiti while he worked in south Florida.
So now Mr. Daniel is dead, his family is stuck in Haiti, and his children will be seeing no more money from him. And his family cannot come and say good by to the man that allowed them to stay alive.
The Miami Herald reported a story on May 27, 2006 titled “Embassy Denies Visa for Funeral”.
Menes Daniel, who left Haiti in 1981, died entombed in quick-drying liquid cement in a construction accident in early May. He and two other workers were working in the Bal Harbour high-rise building when the roof collapsed, sending a torrent of wet concrete over them. They died almost immediately.
Mr. Daniel’s funeral was scheduled for June 3 and his common-law wife and two children in Haiti applied for a temporary visa to attend his funeral.
The non-immigrant visa section of the American Consulate in Port-au-Prince denied their request for visas. His Haitian family were unable to provide any evidence of “ties to Haiti that would compel their return from the U. S.” They could not prove they had assets in Haiti to come back to from the U.S. Mr. Daniel had been wiring his family money for years so they could survive in Haiti while he worked in south Florida.
So now Mr. Daniel is dead, his family is stuck in Haiti, and his children will be seeing no more money from him. And his family cannot come and say good by to the man that allowed them to stay alive.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Poaching Nurses
June 14, 2006
Poaching Nurses
The Lancet medical journal June 3, 2006 contains an article “Poaching Nurses from the Developing World”.
The article gives grim statistics. The American Hospital Association reports that here are 118,000 current vacancies of qualified nurses in the U.S. Nursing schools in the U.S. do not have sufficient staff and 32,000 students were refused entry into Baccalaureate level nursing programs in 2005.
Developed countries have long looked upon the developing world as a nearly limitless source of willing labor to fill the nursing shortage. 50,000 nurses have immigrated to the US in the last decade. Most of the countries from which these nurses come are facing extremely serious public-health problems, including epidemics of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. These are the same problems we see in Haiti everyday. Haiti and the rest of the developing world cannot afford to lose these nurses who frequently manage an entire ward of a hospital when there is no doctor available.
The Lancet reports, “Only 10% of the global burden of disease is concentrated in the Americas, but 37% of all health professionals work there”. A UN report reinforces that this brain drain of health workers is effectively subsiding care in the rich world. Clearly, further migration of workers will be disastrous for developing countries.
OSF-SFMC in Peoria and other large medical centers in the U.S. that attempt to lure nurses from their dirt-poor home countries should realize what they are doing. Diana Mason, editor of the American Journal of Nursing, said the main problem here is the “primary moral issue of draining these countries of their much-needed nursing resources and further undermine their healthcare infrastructure and the health of their people (and thus of their economies).” Mason states that a recent report by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research suggests that the nursing shortage continues as a result of collusion among hospital administrators to keep wages down and of longstanding gender-based wage discrimination. Can you believe it?
According to Lancet, the U.S. Congress should be creating ways to fund and strengthen the nursing infrastructure in the US, thereby developing a local workforce. Nursing salaries could rise and the poaching of nurses from the developing world would no longer be necessary. And most importantly, patients in the Philippines, Africa, and Haiti wouldn’t lie in their hospital beds without care.
Poaching Nurses
The Lancet medical journal June 3, 2006 contains an article “Poaching Nurses from the Developing World”.
The article gives grim statistics. The American Hospital Association reports that here are 118,000 current vacancies of qualified nurses in the U.S. Nursing schools in the U.S. do not have sufficient staff and 32,000 students were refused entry into Baccalaureate level nursing programs in 2005.
Developed countries have long looked upon the developing world as a nearly limitless source of willing labor to fill the nursing shortage. 50,000 nurses have immigrated to the US in the last decade. Most of the countries from which these nurses come are facing extremely serious public-health problems, including epidemics of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. These are the same problems we see in Haiti everyday. Haiti and the rest of the developing world cannot afford to lose these nurses who frequently manage an entire ward of a hospital when there is no doctor available.
The Lancet reports, “Only 10% of the global burden of disease is concentrated in the Americas, but 37% of all health professionals work there”. A UN report reinforces that this brain drain of health workers is effectively subsiding care in the rich world. Clearly, further migration of workers will be disastrous for developing countries.
OSF-SFMC in Peoria and other large medical centers in the U.S. that attempt to lure nurses from their dirt-poor home countries should realize what they are doing. Diana Mason, editor of the American Journal of Nursing, said the main problem here is the “primary moral issue of draining these countries of their much-needed nursing resources and further undermine their healthcare infrastructure and the health of their people (and thus of their economies).” Mason states that a recent report by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research suggests that the nursing shortage continues as a result of collusion among hospital administrators to keep wages down and of longstanding gender-based wage discrimination. Can you believe it?
According to Lancet, the U.S. Congress should be creating ways to fund and strengthen the nursing infrastructure in the US, thereby developing a local workforce. Nursing salaries could rise and the poaching of nurses from the developing world would no longer be necessary. And most importantly, patients in the Philippines, Africa, and Haiti wouldn’t lie in their hospital beds without care.
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Worms
Almost every child we examine in the clinic in Haiti has worms at one time or another. Their mothers mention that the baby defecates worms or coughs them up on a routine basis. I think the Haitian mothers report this with the same amount of emotion that a mother from the United States reports that her baby has the sniffles.
Haitian moms frequently state that the baby grinds its teeth at night or cries out in its sleep or complains of abdominal pain. Also, a depigmentation of skin where the nostrils join the face is another "telltale" sign of being infested with worms.
In Lancet May 6, 2006, the Seminar is "Soil-transmitted Helminth Infections". The article reports:
More than a billion people world wide are infected with at least one species of worm. Of particular interest are the roundworms, whipworms, and hookworms. They are considered together because it is common for a single individual, like the kids we examine in Haiti, to be chronically infected with all of these worms. Such children have malnutrition, growth stunting, intellectual retardation, and cognitive and educational defects.
These soil transmitted worms are one of the world's most important causes of physical and intellectual growth retardation. Yet, despite their educational, economic, and public-health importance, they remain largely neglected by the medical and international community. This neglect stems from three features: first, the people most affected are the world's most impoverished, particularly those who live on less than US $2 per day; second, the infections cause chronic ill health and have insidious clinical presentation; and third, quantification of the effect of these infections on economic development and education is difficult.
So as soon as the Haitian babies quit taking their mother's milk and are placed on the ground, they are subjected to these unrelenting parasites. Haiti's infrastructure breeds all types of parasites which diminish the quality and quantity of life for Haiti's most innocent. Haiti's future adults are compromised from the beginning and Haiti's future as a viable country is jeopardized as well.
Medicine should be politics. They can never be separated. Public health care experts and doctors need to continually repeat how the two are related. Taking care of the infrastructure will take care of people and make the country viable in the competitive world in which we live.
Haitian moms frequently state that the baby grinds its teeth at night or cries out in its sleep or complains of abdominal pain. Also, a depigmentation of skin where the nostrils join the face is another "telltale" sign of being infested with worms.
In Lancet May 6, 2006, the Seminar is "Soil-transmitted Helminth Infections". The article reports:
More than a billion people world wide are infected with at least one species of worm. Of particular interest are the roundworms, whipworms, and hookworms. They are considered together because it is common for a single individual, like the kids we examine in Haiti, to be chronically infected with all of these worms. Such children have malnutrition, growth stunting, intellectual retardation, and cognitive and educational defects.
These soil transmitted worms are one of the world's most important causes of physical and intellectual growth retardation. Yet, despite their educational, economic, and public-health importance, they remain largely neglected by the medical and international community. This neglect stems from three features: first, the people most affected are the world's most impoverished, particularly those who live on less than US $2 per day; second, the infections cause chronic ill health and have insidious clinical presentation; and third, quantification of the effect of these infections on economic development and education is difficult.
So as soon as the Haitian babies quit taking their mother's milk and are placed on the ground, they are subjected to these unrelenting parasites. Haiti's infrastructure breeds all types of parasites which diminish the quality and quantity of life for Haiti's most innocent. Haiti's future adults are compromised from the beginning and Haiti's future as a viable country is jeopardized as well.
Medicine should be politics. They can never be separated. Public health care experts and doctors need to continually repeat how the two are related. Taking care of the infrastructure will take care of people and make the country viable in the competitive world in which we live.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
The Dignitaries
The Dignitaries---May 13, 2006
The Haitian grandma sat on the wooden bench in the clinic looking at her 10 month old grandson who lay quietly on his back on her lap. Her eyes were tired and full of despair. He glanced at her with his own tired sunken eyes. He really didn’t look around at others as he should have. He weighed 4 kilograms.
Helicopters flew over the clinic escorting dignitaries from all over the world to hotels for the Haitian presidential election. Neither the gandma nor the baby cared about the noise from the helicopters or the bevy of activity in PAP regarding the inauguration. The baby was too sick and the grandma was out of hope.
The baby had vomiting and diarrhea for 2 days and his mother had died months ago. Grandma is the “primary care provider”. She would gently move the baby on her lap but his head would flop backwards without support and his tiny arms hung down from his side. His breathing was fast because his brainstem told him to breathe as fast as he could to neutralize the acid that has accumulated in his body from his depleted circulation. He had been given IV fluids but the IV was now pulled and he was being sent home because the clinic was closing, we had no room, and grandma had no money for any other hospital.
Before they left,we taught grandma how to slowly give him drinks of water from a plastic cup mixed with powder containing the sodium, potassium, and bicarbonate to perk his body back to life again. He avidly swallowed the solution when she offered it. However, a fair amount fell onto his chest. Grandma has no time for this. She doesn’t even have potable water in her shack. She has other responsibilities too. But the baby needs the fluids to save his life. The baby was trying and grandma did her best. But grandma will give up after a while and the baby will die without a whimper. When grandma softly said, “O Jesu,” she was not using Jesus’ name in vain. She simply meant that she will be burying another little family member soon.
Haiti has one inauguration each 5 years but we see Haitian babies dying like this everyday. Gastrointestinal diseases along with respiratory tract illnesses cause the majority of deaths in the first year of life around the world. Globally, 4 million babies die in their first month of life. The real problem is poverty which allows these babies to get sick and poor or no medical care to provide relief during their downward swirl. The vast majority of these 4 million deaths are preventable.
We live in the Information Age. The information how to save this baby is well known all over the world. But the system and structure has to be in place to apply the information to save this Haitian baby. By system and structure, I mean a rehydration center, with a nurse that will provide assistance for as long as it takes to rehydrate this baby. The system and structure is what fails these babies, not their grandmas.
So grandma and the grandson headed back into the very hot mid afternoon sun. The roads have been cleaned some and the Haitian National Police are ubiquitous. Much money is being spent at hotels for the local Haitian drink this weekend as journalists, camera crews, and dignitaries meet in upscale locations perched in high cool locations away from the hell that lies below them in the city. The inauguration is Sunday at the National Palace which will be the same day grandma buries her grandbaby for lack of basic drink and a system and structure to sustain.
“Distance negates responsibility.” Guy Davenport
The Haitian grandma sat on the wooden bench in the clinic looking at her 10 month old grandson who lay quietly on his back on her lap. Her eyes were tired and full of despair. He glanced at her with his own tired sunken eyes. He really didn’t look around at others as he should have. He weighed 4 kilograms.
Helicopters flew over the clinic escorting dignitaries from all over the world to hotels for the Haitian presidential election. Neither the gandma nor the baby cared about the noise from the helicopters or the bevy of activity in PAP regarding the inauguration. The baby was too sick and the grandma was out of hope.
The baby had vomiting and diarrhea for 2 days and his mother had died months ago. Grandma is the “primary care provider”. She would gently move the baby on her lap but his head would flop backwards without support and his tiny arms hung down from his side. His breathing was fast because his brainstem told him to breathe as fast as he could to neutralize the acid that has accumulated in his body from his depleted circulation. He had been given IV fluids but the IV was now pulled and he was being sent home because the clinic was closing, we had no room, and grandma had no money for any other hospital.
Before they left,we taught grandma how to slowly give him drinks of water from a plastic cup mixed with powder containing the sodium, potassium, and bicarbonate to perk his body back to life again. He avidly swallowed the solution when she offered it. However, a fair amount fell onto his chest. Grandma has no time for this. She doesn’t even have potable water in her shack. She has other responsibilities too. But the baby needs the fluids to save his life. The baby was trying and grandma did her best. But grandma will give up after a while and the baby will die without a whimper. When grandma softly said, “O Jesu,” she was not using Jesus’ name in vain. She simply meant that she will be burying another little family member soon.
Haiti has one inauguration each 5 years but we see Haitian babies dying like this everyday. Gastrointestinal diseases along with respiratory tract illnesses cause the majority of deaths in the first year of life around the world. Globally, 4 million babies die in their first month of life. The real problem is poverty which allows these babies to get sick and poor or no medical care to provide relief during their downward swirl. The vast majority of these 4 million deaths are preventable.
We live in the Information Age. The information how to save this baby is well known all over the world. But the system and structure has to be in place to apply the information to save this Haitian baby. By system and structure, I mean a rehydration center, with a nurse that will provide assistance for as long as it takes to rehydrate this baby. The system and structure is what fails these babies, not their grandmas.
So grandma and the grandson headed back into the very hot mid afternoon sun. The roads have been cleaned some and the Haitian National Police are ubiquitous. Much money is being spent at hotels for the local Haitian drink this weekend as journalists, camera crews, and dignitaries meet in upscale locations perched in high cool locations away from the hell that lies below them in the city. The inauguration is Sunday at the National Palace which will be the same day grandma buries her grandbaby for lack of basic drink and a system and structure to sustain.
“Distance negates responsibility.” Guy Davenport
Monday, May 01, 2006
Nadia
Dear Sister Judith Ann, Bishop Jenky, Doug, Keith, Paul, Gerry, and Joe,
Greetings from Haiti.
On Thursday morning, April 23, 2006, Jackson Jean-Baptiste sister Nadia
showed up for the first time since we have been in Haiti this month. It
was the first time we saw her since Jackson's death in January.
As she walked towards us, this very lovely 19 year old girl had a little
smile and was wearing blue jeans and a blue shirt. However, she walked
towards us very unsure of herself and very docile, like poor Haitians
are trained to be. We hugged her and she sat down at our table with us.
After Jackson had died, I called her and told her the unfortunate news.
However, I heard trough the Haitian grapevine that she was not sure that
Jackson was really dead. As we talked the other day about things, her
eyes welled up with tears because she had never seen me in five years
without Jackson close by. Jackson was not appearing from around the
corner and never would.
Nadia started to cry slowly with one huge tear that trickled slowly down
her right cheek. That turned into massive body shaking sobs that went on
for 30 minutes as she lowered her head to her knees.
I told her how sorry we were for Jackson's death. Kleenex after Kleenex
only helped a little. My weak attempts to tell her that Jackson was in a
better place and wasn't suffering anymore did not help much. Nadia
stated that she understood, but Jackson was her "only big brother". She
had lost two other brothers and her father was murdered.
Nadia asked to see the album of pictures that we brought with us of
Jackson's funeral in Illinois. As she paged through the little album,
she sobbed more and shook her head no. I think for the first time she
realized that Jackson was gone and this was all real and it was really
bad. Jackson was indeed buried on the hillside of a little cemetery
overlooking a dreary looking brown cornfield in the Midwest.
Nadia asked why Jackson's face was swollen in the casket and his lips
turned down. I told her that before he died his face was swollen and
that is how he ended up after the morticians work. She stared at the
face of her brother that used to make her laugh by dancing and singing
with the radio on and acting like he was playing the guitar. She told
jokes with him outside their shack in the morning on the mountain
overlooking Port-au- Prince. How could Jackson look so sad in death?
This was all too much.
She also saw photos of all the white Americans that had come to his
funeral and sang for him in the cemetery on that cold and rainy January
day. Nadia saw the faces of his host families at the wake and cemetery.
She saw the statue of St. Martin de Porres at the church where the
funeral Mass was held in Peoria. There was an amazing likeness of the
statue's face and Jackson's live happy face.
After an hour of this misery, Nadia was able to calm down, and we
devised a plan to get a Jackson's heavy suitcase, laden with gifts for
him while he was alive, to his home two hours up the mountain.
Yesterday, on Saturday morning, Nadia returned with a driver to
transport Jackson's belongings and my wife Maria and I to his home to
see his mother for the first time since his death. Jackson's 15 year old
brother Gabriel Moise came along. We threw Jackson's suitcase in the
back of the pickup, and after the driver took a rock he had wedged
between his battery and hood and banged on something in the motor, the
ignition kicked in and we were off through the insanely busy streets of
Port-a-Prince.
Coursing up the mountain was a painful experience. The roads were jam
packed with people and are full of holes and curves, stalled Mack
trucks, and people backing their vehicles down their lane directly at
us.
When we arrived in Jackson's village called La Boul, we were only able
to go so far until the road turned to dirt and holes and the driver
pulled over. We all got out at that point and lugged Jackson's suitcase
down slippery and steep dirt trails. These were the same hills and roads
that Nadia and her mom had carried Jackson on a chair to see us on
December 1,
2005 when he was too weak to walk. It did not seem humanly possible that
Jackson survived that trip.
I had been to Jackson's home five years ago and the surroundings all
started looking familiar. As we approached Jackson's home, approximately
25 of his neighbors were on a front porch of the home next to Jackson's
singing and praying very loudly over problems they were having.
Jackson's mom Rosette, older sister Claudette, and eight year old
brother were there to greet us on a small patch of dirt that serves as
their front yard. Rosette was not smiling but she gently hugged us. I
could hear her wheezing from her asthma. She is 44 years old but appears
quite a bit older.
She invited us in her little two room shack. We entered through the
front door, which is a piece of cloth, into a room about 12#12 feet. The
floor is cement and the walls are cinderblock and cement. The roof is
the usual Haitian corrugated metal roof with holes in it where we could
see dots of daylight above us. One light bulb hangs suspended from a
wire that is fed with borrowed electric current from the big electric
line close to their home.
An adjacent darker smaller room's walls are caving in and its roof is
leaking even worse than the main room. Rosette stores her second hand
clothes that she buys in a port city in this room and sells them on a
street corner near her home in La Boul. Nadia and her little brother
sleep in this room.
Jackson's bed was to our immediate left in the first room and they have
turned it into a little "shrine". The bed has a spread and small pillow.
A red covered Bible with "Jackson" scribbled on the side sat on the
pillow as did his fake Rolex looking watch and his picture album of all
the blans that helped him in the United States when he had his previous
heart surgeries. A ragged stuffed little cloth dog that must have been
Jackson's sat guard in the middle of the bed facing the pillow.
Rosette talked about how much she appreciated what we had done for
Jackson. She spoke of her life and that not much is left for her. She is
grateful for her children, especially Nadia, who seems like she can help
the most now that Jackson is gone.
Maria slowly unloaded Jackson's suitcase with his second hand clothes
that were still neat and folded. At this point, Rosette started to cry.
Maria removed a smooth heavy rock from the funeral that was engraved
"Jackson Jean-Baptiste Jesus Loves You". Rosette could not read the rock
because she is illiterate or the numerous notes from people in the
States. When I handed her the funeral pamphlet with Jackson's smiling
face on the cover, she barely looked at it and did not open it. His
sisters glanced at his obituary in the Peoria Journal Star, but could
not read the English.
Maria explained who gave which gifts and Rosette shook her head as if
she understood.
We gave her only a small portion of the money that was donated to her at
Jackson's funeral, so if she gets robbed, the thieves will get only a
small portion of the donation. We will disperse the rest to her in the
same quantities when we come in the future. Also, it would be nice if a
work team could be organized to build her a new home or patch the leaky
roof and repair the wall that is crumbling in the dark room.
Sister and Bishop Jenky, I am going to ask Rosette if she would like to
visit the United States so she can meet Jackson's host families in the
Peoria area, his doctors and nursing staff at OSF, and can see his grave
in Goodfield, Illinois.
I would like you to be able to meet her. She will thank you for all you
did for Jackson but will have some questions for you regarding Jackson's
demise in 2005.
She will probably ask you, Sister Judith Ann and Bishop Jenky, what your
understanding was regarding Catholic social teachings, the Bishops'
Ethical and Religious Directives regarding health care, and the OSF's
Sisters mission philosophy regarding her son. Rosette will want to see
the plans for the new 200 million dollar Children's Hospital of
Illinois, and may ask you why you would not accept 20,000 dollars for
Jackson's care in Peoria when he really needed your resources. She will
have specific questions for Keith and Paul, and will ask some ethical
questions of Joe and Gerry, I am sure. Doug, her legal questions will
probably be limited, but I am sure she would like to meet you anyway,
since you played such a large role in Jackson's life.
I will obtain her travel visa and Haitian Hearts will purchase her
ticket and travel to and from Peoria with her. You don't have to worry
about these details.
Please let me know when a good date would be when we could all get
together with Rosette so open and honest communication, a central OSF
mission statement, can occur. She lost her son. She deserves this, don't
you think?
Sincerely,
John Carroll
PS Would you please circulate this to the people at the top if their e
mail addresses don't appear? Thank you.
Greetings from Haiti.
On Thursday morning, April 23, 2006, Jackson Jean-Baptiste sister Nadia
showed up for the first time since we have been in Haiti this month. It
was the first time we saw her since Jackson's death in January.
As she walked towards us, this very lovely 19 year old girl had a little
smile and was wearing blue jeans and a blue shirt. However, she walked
towards us very unsure of herself and very docile, like poor Haitians
are trained to be. We hugged her and she sat down at our table with us.
After Jackson had died, I called her and told her the unfortunate news.
However, I heard trough the Haitian grapevine that she was not sure that
Jackson was really dead. As we talked the other day about things, her
eyes welled up with tears because she had never seen me in five years
without Jackson close by. Jackson was not appearing from around the
corner and never would.
Nadia started to cry slowly with one huge tear that trickled slowly down
her right cheek. That turned into massive body shaking sobs that went on
for 30 minutes as she lowered her head to her knees.
I told her how sorry we were for Jackson's death. Kleenex after Kleenex
only helped a little. My weak attempts to tell her that Jackson was in a
better place and wasn't suffering anymore did not help much. Nadia
stated that she understood, but Jackson was her "only big brother". She
had lost two other brothers and her father was murdered.
Nadia asked to see the album of pictures that we brought with us of
Jackson's funeral in Illinois. As she paged through the little album,
she sobbed more and shook her head no. I think for the first time she
realized that Jackson was gone and this was all real and it was really
bad. Jackson was indeed buried on the hillside of a little cemetery
overlooking a dreary looking brown cornfield in the Midwest.
Nadia asked why Jackson's face was swollen in the casket and his lips
turned down. I told her that before he died his face was swollen and
that is how he ended up after the morticians work. She stared at the
face of her brother that used to make her laugh by dancing and singing
with the radio on and acting like he was playing the guitar. She told
jokes with him outside their shack in the morning on the mountain
overlooking Port-au- Prince. How could Jackson look so sad in death?
This was all too much.
She also saw photos of all the white Americans that had come to his
funeral and sang for him in the cemetery on that cold and rainy January
day. Nadia saw the faces of his host families at the wake and cemetery.
She saw the statue of St. Martin de Porres at the church where the
funeral Mass was held in Peoria. There was an amazing likeness of the
statue's face and Jackson's live happy face.
After an hour of this misery, Nadia was able to calm down, and we
devised a plan to get a Jackson's heavy suitcase, laden with gifts for
him while he was alive, to his home two hours up the mountain.
Yesterday, on Saturday morning, Nadia returned with a driver to
transport Jackson's belongings and my wife Maria and I to his home to
see his mother for the first time since his death. Jackson's 15 year old
brother Gabriel Moise came along. We threw Jackson's suitcase in the
back of the pickup, and after the driver took a rock he had wedged
between his battery and hood and banged on something in the motor, the
ignition kicked in and we were off through the insanely busy streets of
Port-a-Prince.
Coursing up the mountain was a painful experience. The roads were jam
packed with people and are full of holes and curves, stalled Mack
trucks, and people backing their vehicles down their lane directly at
us.
When we arrived in Jackson's village called La Boul, we were only able
to go so far until the road turned to dirt and holes and the driver
pulled over. We all got out at that point and lugged Jackson's suitcase
down slippery and steep dirt trails. These were the same hills and roads
that Nadia and her mom had carried Jackson on a chair to see us on
December 1,
2005 when he was too weak to walk. It did not seem humanly possible that
Jackson survived that trip.
I had been to Jackson's home five years ago and the surroundings all
started looking familiar. As we approached Jackson's home, approximately
25 of his neighbors were on a front porch of the home next to Jackson's
singing and praying very loudly over problems they were having.
Jackson's mom Rosette, older sister Claudette, and eight year old
brother were there to greet us on a small patch of dirt that serves as
their front yard. Rosette was not smiling but she gently hugged us. I
could hear her wheezing from her asthma. She is 44 years old but appears
quite a bit older.
She invited us in her little two room shack. We entered through the
front door, which is a piece of cloth, into a room about 12#12 feet. The
floor is cement and the walls are cinderblock and cement. The roof is
the usual Haitian corrugated metal roof with holes in it where we could
see dots of daylight above us. One light bulb hangs suspended from a
wire that is fed with borrowed electric current from the big electric
line close to their home.
An adjacent darker smaller room's walls are caving in and its roof is
leaking even worse than the main room. Rosette stores her second hand
clothes that she buys in a port city in this room and sells them on a
street corner near her home in La Boul. Nadia and her little brother
sleep in this room.
Jackson's bed was to our immediate left in the first room and they have
turned it into a little "shrine". The bed has a spread and small pillow.
A red covered Bible with "Jackson" scribbled on the side sat on the
pillow as did his fake Rolex looking watch and his picture album of all
the blans that helped him in the United States when he had his previous
heart surgeries. A ragged stuffed little cloth dog that must have been
Jackson's sat guard in the middle of the bed facing the pillow.
Rosette talked about how much she appreciated what we had done for
Jackson. She spoke of her life and that not much is left for her. She is
grateful for her children, especially Nadia, who seems like she can help
the most now that Jackson is gone.
Maria slowly unloaded Jackson's suitcase with his second hand clothes
that were still neat and folded. At this point, Rosette started to cry.
Maria removed a smooth heavy rock from the funeral that was engraved
"Jackson Jean-Baptiste Jesus Loves You". Rosette could not read the rock
because she is illiterate or the numerous notes from people in the
States. When I handed her the funeral pamphlet with Jackson's smiling
face on the cover, she barely looked at it and did not open it. His
sisters glanced at his obituary in the Peoria Journal Star, but could
not read the English.
Maria explained who gave which gifts and Rosette shook her head as if
she understood.
We gave her only a small portion of the money that was donated to her at
Jackson's funeral, so if she gets robbed, the thieves will get only a
small portion of the donation. We will disperse the rest to her in the
same quantities when we come in the future. Also, it would be nice if a
work team could be organized to build her a new home or patch the leaky
roof and repair the wall that is crumbling in the dark room.
Sister and Bishop Jenky, I am going to ask Rosette if she would like to
visit the United States so she can meet Jackson's host families in the
Peoria area, his doctors and nursing staff at OSF, and can see his grave
in Goodfield, Illinois.
I would like you to be able to meet her. She will thank you for all you
did for Jackson but will have some questions for you regarding Jackson's
demise in 2005.
She will probably ask you, Sister Judith Ann and Bishop Jenky, what your
understanding was regarding Catholic social teachings, the Bishops'
Ethical and Religious Directives regarding health care, and the OSF's
Sisters mission philosophy regarding her son. Rosette will want to see
the plans for the new 200 million dollar Children's Hospital of
Illinois, and may ask you why you would not accept 20,000 dollars for
Jackson's care in Peoria when he really needed your resources. She will
have specific questions for Keith and Paul, and will ask some ethical
questions of Joe and Gerry, I am sure. Doug, her legal questions will
probably be limited, but I am sure she would like to meet you anyway,
since you played such a large role in Jackson's life.
I will obtain her travel visa and Haitian Hearts will purchase her
ticket and travel to and from Peoria with her. You don't have to worry
about these details.
Please let me know when a good date would be when we could all get
together with Rosette so open and honest communication, a central OSF
mission statement, can occur. She lost her son. She deserves this, don't
you think?
Sincerely,
John Carroll
PS Would you please circulate this to the people at the top if their e
mail addresses don't appear? Thank you.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
The Scandal of Poor People's Disease
The Scandal of Poor People’s Disease
On the Opinion page of the New York Times several days ago, there was an article entitled “The Scandal of the Poor People’s Disease” by Tina Rosenberg. Rosenberg’s idea is that if you have to get sick, it is better to become ill with a disease that infects the rich too. That way more research is done, more medications are registered and used, more lobbying is done for your plight, and you may be helped. For example, due to strong lobbying groups in the US, HIV became a very hot topic quickly which led to very serious research and the development of medications that have extended the lives of many people with the HIV virus all over the world. If the developed world did not have AIDS, this research most likely would not have been done.
Tuberculosis infects one-third of the world’s population. You read that correctly. Two billion people are infected. Not all have the disease, but many are infected and are at risk of developing active TB. In the decade of the 90’s tuberculosis killed more people worldwide than in any decade in human history.
In Haiti, my wife and I spend much of the year working in a pediatric TB clinic. Haiti is full of tuberculosis and it hits children especially hard. Children’s immune systems just do not fight TB well enough and infection can turn into full blown tuberculosis. Fifty percent of children with active TB who are not diagnosed or treated with medications for the disease are dead in 5 years.
There are 8,000,000 new cases of tuberculosis infection each year around the world. Tuberculosis kills 5,000 people EACH day. While there has been a cure for TB for 50 years, virulent new forms of the disease have arisen. Despite this, there have been no new registered drugs for TB in 40 years. The vaccination for TB is 80 years old. As Rosenberg states, TB is an ancient disease and the cure is outdated. What she means is a disease of this magnitude has been targeted by very little research and attempts to control it--until AIDS came along and infected the wealthy nations.
When AIDS became common in the US and Europe, AIDS victims frequently became infected with TB because their immune systems were damaged. AIDS patients around the frequently die from TB. Therefore, public health systems were resurrected in the US and TB was made much more of a priority. As a result, the US has an all time lowest number of TB cases in the nation’s history.
TB attacks the invisible poor people around the world. In the US we have children who are too obese for the car seats that are manufactured. The children my wife and I see each day are too small to sit in these car seats. But they don’t need car seats here because the parents don’t have cars. TB attacks these kids and makes them even smaller.
On the Opinion page of the New York Times several days ago, there was an article entitled “The Scandal of the Poor People’s Disease” by Tina Rosenberg. Rosenberg’s idea is that if you have to get sick, it is better to become ill with a disease that infects the rich too. That way more research is done, more medications are registered and used, more lobbying is done for your plight, and you may be helped. For example, due to strong lobbying groups in the US, HIV became a very hot topic quickly which led to very serious research and the development of medications that have extended the lives of many people with the HIV virus all over the world. If the developed world did not have AIDS, this research most likely would not have been done.
Tuberculosis infects one-third of the world’s population. You read that correctly. Two billion people are infected. Not all have the disease, but many are infected and are at risk of developing active TB. In the decade of the 90’s tuberculosis killed more people worldwide than in any decade in human history.
In Haiti, my wife and I spend much of the year working in a pediatric TB clinic. Haiti is full of tuberculosis and it hits children especially hard. Children’s immune systems just do not fight TB well enough and infection can turn into full blown tuberculosis. Fifty percent of children with active TB who are not diagnosed or treated with medications for the disease are dead in 5 years.
There are 8,000,000 new cases of tuberculosis infection each year around the world. Tuberculosis kills 5,000 people EACH day. While there has been a cure for TB for 50 years, virulent new forms of the disease have arisen. Despite this, there have been no new registered drugs for TB in 40 years. The vaccination for TB is 80 years old. As Rosenberg states, TB is an ancient disease and the cure is outdated. What she means is a disease of this magnitude has been targeted by very little research and attempts to control it--until AIDS came along and infected the wealthy nations.
When AIDS became common in the US and Europe, AIDS victims frequently became infected with TB because their immune systems were damaged. AIDS patients around the frequently die from TB. Therefore, public health systems were resurrected in the US and TB was made much more of a priority. As a result, the US has an all time lowest number of TB cases in the nation’s history.
TB attacks the invisible poor people around the world. In the US we have children who are too obese for the car seats that are manufactured. The children my wife and I see each day are too small to sit in these car seats. But they don’t need car seats here because the parents don’t have cars. TB attacks these kids and makes them even smaller.
Sunday, April 02, 2006
The Haitian Cook and St. Augustine
The Haitian Cook and St. Augustine
When Jackson Jean-Baptiste was with Maria and me during the month of December, he was really sick. However, many people here got to know him as much as Jackson would allow. People became attached to him in some way probably due to his fragile condition. He was very thin, spoke softly and deliberately, and walked slowly. But his mind worked very well.
Maria and I got to know him quite well. He told us about his mother’s life. She travels 12 hours once a week to a southern coastal city in Haiti to buy used clothes and sell them on the street near Jackson’s home. She makes the round trip in one day.
His father worked in a quarry. One day, when Jackson was just a boy, while his father was hanging from the side of the cliff by a rope, an enemy of his in the neighborhood, cut the rope with his machete. Jackson’s father plunged to his death suffering a massive head injury. Jackson told us the story impassively. When I asked him if he knew where the man lived that cut the rope, he replied “yes”. Nothing was ever done to bring the man to justice. Jackson seemed to accept that. He couldn’t do anything about it anyway. He was poor.
Last night, the cook approached me near the kitchen. He is a very black man with a kind face and nice smile. He told me that Jackson’s death had “hurt his (the cook’s) chest”. I told him I felt very sad too. The cook just shrugged his shoulders and looked at me with his very expressive eyes. He said, “Doctors are not God. You did all you could for him and God did the rest.” But the cook did not know, and will never know, our riches at home and why we should have helped God with Jackson. We simply did not do our part in Peoria.
The Haitian cook, who works very hard for very little salary, gave us more support regarding Jackson’s death than did any member of the Leaders of the Catholic Medical Center in Peoria that rejected Jackson during his days of suffering and misery when something could have been done. The Catholic Diocese Hierarchy had no supportive words either regarding Jackson as we buried him near Peoria.
Yet, this poor Haitian cook told me how hurt he was that Jackson died. Jackson’s death meant more to this poor man than all the rich men I know at home. A Haitian had lost another Haitian brother. Rich men lose stocks, jobs, money, homes, and objects. The death of Jackson meant nothing to the rich at home.
Saint Augustine wrote:
Let us by our prayers add the wings of piety to our alms deeds and fasting so that they may fly more readily to God. Moreover, the Christian soul understands how far removed he should be from theft of another’s goods when he realizes that failure to share his surplus with the needy is like theft. The Lord says: “Give, and it shall be given to you; forgive, and you shall be forgiven.” (Cf. Luke 6:37,38)
When Jackson Jean-Baptiste was with Maria and me during the month of December, he was really sick. However, many people here got to know him as much as Jackson would allow. People became attached to him in some way probably due to his fragile condition. He was very thin, spoke softly and deliberately, and walked slowly. But his mind worked very well.
Maria and I got to know him quite well. He told us about his mother’s life. She travels 12 hours once a week to a southern coastal city in Haiti to buy used clothes and sell them on the street near Jackson’s home. She makes the round trip in one day.
His father worked in a quarry. One day, when Jackson was just a boy, while his father was hanging from the side of the cliff by a rope, an enemy of his in the neighborhood, cut the rope with his machete. Jackson’s father plunged to his death suffering a massive head injury. Jackson told us the story impassively. When I asked him if he knew where the man lived that cut the rope, he replied “yes”. Nothing was ever done to bring the man to justice. Jackson seemed to accept that. He couldn’t do anything about it anyway. He was poor.
Last night, the cook approached me near the kitchen. He is a very black man with a kind face and nice smile. He told me that Jackson’s death had “hurt his (the cook’s) chest”. I told him I felt very sad too. The cook just shrugged his shoulders and looked at me with his very expressive eyes. He said, “Doctors are not God. You did all you could for him and God did the rest.” But the cook did not know, and will never know, our riches at home and why we should have helped God with Jackson. We simply did not do our part in Peoria.
The Haitian cook, who works very hard for very little salary, gave us more support regarding Jackson’s death than did any member of the Leaders of the Catholic Medical Center in Peoria that rejected Jackson during his days of suffering and misery when something could have been done. The Catholic Diocese Hierarchy had no supportive words either regarding Jackson as we buried him near Peoria.
Yet, this poor Haitian cook told me how hurt he was that Jackson died. Jackson’s death meant more to this poor man than all the rich men I know at home. A Haitian had lost another Haitian brother. Rich men lose stocks, jobs, money, homes, and objects. The death of Jackson meant nothing to the rich at home.
Saint Augustine wrote:
Let us by our prayers add the wings of piety to our alms deeds and fasting so that they may fly more readily to God. Moreover, the Christian soul understands how far removed he should be from theft of another’s goods when he realizes that failure to share his surplus with the needy is like theft. The Lord says: “Give, and it shall be given to you; forgive, and you shall be forgiven.” (Cf. Luke 6:37,38)
Saturday, April 01, 2006
The Clinic—March 31, 2006
While Maria and I were in Haiti in December, ’05 we didn’t work in Sister Lila’s clinic because the travel would have been too dangerous. Car jacking and kidnappings occurred daily. There were 120 reported kidnappings in December, but only six reported in March. The Haitians that we talk to say the amount of violence has decreased due to the presidential elections that were successfully held on February 7.
When Yvon the driver picked us up today, we were happy to see him. He has been working for sister for years and is very dependable. On airport road, about one mile from where we stay, were concrete road blocks and we pulled over when motioned to do so by UN forces holding carbines. They just asked to see our vehicle's registration papers and were very polite. The soldiers appeared calm talking to the people that walked by. We were gone in two minutes. We saw about 6 white UN tanks on the way to and from the clinic.
Clinic went very well today. Friday is pediatric day and the census was down some (probably about 100 kids) due to the rains at night which fill the puddles in the dirt road and make it very difficult for public transportation to make it down the road.
On the way home, Yvon took a shortcut through Cite Soleil. We went down a new boulevard named after a young man killed by United Nations forces in the last few months. Everything in the slum looked normal to me except the buildings with their walls pockmarked by holes from bullets over the last several years. Gangs and UN forces had fought it out many times.
It was amazing traveling through this slum that is the home to an estimated 200,000 people that had been walled off from the rest of the world for months before the elections. Now kids played on the sidewalks and ladies sold their wares on the street corners as usual. Yvon had a big smile on his face as he drove through…Preval had won and Soleil was quiet for now. Haitians love tranquility.
While Maria and I were in Haiti in December, ’05 we didn’t work in Sister Lila’s clinic because the travel would have been too dangerous. Car jacking and kidnappings occurred daily. There were 120 reported kidnappings in December, but only six reported in March. The Haitians that we talk to say the amount of violence has decreased due to the presidential elections that were successfully held on February 7.
When Yvon the driver picked us up today, we were happy to see him. He has been working for sister for years and is very dependable. On airport road, about one mile from where we stay, were concrete road blocks and we pulled over when motioned to do so by UN forces holding carbines. They just asked to see our vehicle's registration papers and were very polite. The soldiers appeared calm talking to the people that walked by. We were gone in two minutes. We saw about 6 white UN tanks on the way to and from the clinic.
Clinic went very well today. Friday is pediatric day and the census was down some (probably about 100 kids) due to the rains at night which fill the puddles in the dirt road and make it very difficult for public transportation to make it down the road.
On the way home, Yvon took a shortcut through Cite Soleil. We went down a new boulevard named after a young man killed by United Nations forces in the last few months. Everything in the slum looked normal to me except the buildings with their walls pockmarked by holes from bullets over the last several years. Gangs and UN forces had fought it out many times.
It was amazing traveling through this slum that is the home to an estimated 200,000 people that had been walled off from the rest of the world for months before the elections. Now kids played on the sidewalks and ladies sold their wares on the street corners as usual. Yvon had a big smile on his face as he drove through…Preval had won and Soleil was quiet for now. Haitians love tranquility.
The Haitian Orphanage
The Haitian Orphanage—-March 30, 2006
Yesterday Maria and I visited an orphanage here in PAP. There are 90 children in the orphanage which has two buildings located about one block apart. The “new” building has had 3 hours of electricity since the Haitian presidential elections on February 7, 2006. It has no generator yet, so kerosene lamps are used at night for light. This building is the home for approximately 50 toddlers and babies. The other building has the older children.
A young mother came to the gate three days ago. She explained that she just delivered her own baby, cut the cord herself, and swaddled up the baby in a towel. The young mom explained that she has no means to care for the newborn. The manager of the orphanage accepted this baby boy who appears perfect. He just was created and has no marks on him, no impetigo, no hair loss from the unrelenting fungal infections that destroy Haitian kids scalps. He survived his delivery without a Lamaze class, a midwife, a doctor, or anyone except his young mom who did all the right things. He has not been put down yet in the Haitian dirt with its plethora of microbes waiting to attack. And he has avoided the mosquito with it’s malarial parasite and virus which causes dengue fever. Most importantly, he doesn’t yet know he has been abandonded by his birth mom who did the right thing….
The orphanage is staffed by Haitian “nannies” who feed the children, bathe them, wipe their noses, change their diapers, and wash their clothes. Last month, in February, a pregnant lady fell in PAP and went into premature labor. She delivered a 1.2 kg baby girl who was put in a neonatal unit in a community hospital. The baby had a gestational age of 6.5 months. Well, the baby ran up an $800 dollar bill and the mother, of course, could not pay it. The hospital told the mother that if she did not pay the bill, they would put her baby up for adoption. The mother showed up at the door of the orphanage and explained the situation to the managers. The managers talked to the administrator of the hospital who cut the bill in half. The orphanage managers then paid $400 dollars to get the baby, gave it back to the mother, and the mother is working off the bill each day as a nanny in the orphanage. She brings the 2 month old baby girl with her to the orphanage. She is very happy to have her baby who is gaining weight and to retain her dignity by working for the people that saved her baby from adoption.
This building also houses a boy and a girl from the province who were sent into the capital with heart murmurs. Both children are 5 years old. The little girl has a hemoglobin of 6 and the little boy’s hemoglobin is 5. The children walk slowly like shy poor little Haitian kids always walk. Neither say anything and do not appear afraid.
Both of their murmurs are probably innocent flow murmurs because the blood is so thin and non viscous. Also, their hearts are somewhat enlarged from malnutrition and anemia, and that stretches the valves, so the valves can be leaky and create a murmur too. They are so anemic because they lack enough iron in their diets and have worms in their intestines. Both like the meals at their new home and take their iron supplements.
Not having enough to eat in 2006 really is immoral. The median annual income in Miami-Dade County per family is $35,900. The average income in Haiti per person each year is estimated to be about $200. (Median and average are not the same, but one can see the gross inequality between US and Haitian people, even if the units are different.)
Yesterday Maria and I visited an orphanage here in PAP. There are 90 children in the orphanage which has two buildings located about one block apart. The “new” building has had 3 hours of electricity since the Haitian presidential elections on February 7, 2006. It has no generator yet, so kerosene lamps are used at night for light. This building is the home for approximately 50 toddlers and babies. The other building has the older children.
A young mother came to the gate three days ago. She explained that she just delivered her own baby, cut the cord herself, and swaddled up the baby in a towel. The young mom explained that she has no means to care for the newborn. The manager of the orphanage accepted this baby boy who appears perfect. He just was created and has no marks on him, no impetigo, no hair loss from the unrelenting fungal infections that destroy Haitian kids scalps. He survived his delivery without a Lamaze class, a midwife, a doctor, or anyone except his young mom who did all the right things. He has not been put down yet in the Haitian dirt with its plethora of microbes waiting to attack. And he has avoided the mosquito with it’s malarial parasite and virus which causes dengue fever. Most importantly, he doesn’t yet know he has been abandonded by his birth mom who did the right thing….
The orphanage is staffed by Haitian “nannies” who feed the children, bathe them, wipe their noses, change their diapers, and wash their clothes. Last month, in February, a pregnant lady fell in PAP and went into premature labor. She delivered a 1.2 kg baby girl who was put in a neonatal unit in a community hospital. The baby had a gestational age of 6.5 months. Well, the baby ran up an $800 dollar bill and the mother, of course, could not pay it. The hospital told the mother that if she did not pay the bill, they would put her baby up for adoption. The mother showed up at the door of the orphanage and explained the situation to the managers. The managers talked to the administrator of the hospital who cut the bill in half. The orphanage managers then paid $400 dollars to get the baby, gave it back to the mother, and the mother is working off the bill each day as a nanny in the orphanage. She brings the 2 month old baby girl with her to the orphanage. She is very happy to have her baby who is gaining weight and to retain her dignity by working for the people that saved her baby from adoption.
This building also houses a boy and a girl from the province who were sent into the capital with heart murmurs. Both children are 5 years old. The little girl has a hemoglobin of 6 and the little boy’s hemoglobin is 5. The children walk slowly like shy poor little Haitian kids always walk. Neither say anything and do not appear afraid.
Both of their murmurs are probably innocent flow murmurs because the blood is so thin and non viscous. Also, their hearts are somewhat enlarged from malnutrition and anemia, and that stretches the valves, so the valves can be leaky and create a murmur too. They are so anemic because they lack enough iron in their diets and have worms in their intestines. Both like the meals at their new home and take their iron supplements.
Not having enough to eat in 2006 really is immoral. The median annual income in Miami-Dade County per family is $35,900. The average income in Haiti per person each year is estimated to be about $200. (Median and average are not the same, but one can see the gross inequality between US and Haitian people, even if the units are different.)
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Letter to Cardiologist
Peoria’s Medical Mafia
Letter to Cardiologist for Jackson
Date: 26 Dec 2005 16:05:37 -0000From: “Realname”
Subject: Jackson
Dear Doug,
Hope you had a good Christmas.
Doug, through some fairly miraculous circumstances during the last coupleof days, Jean-Baptiste was accepted into Cleveland Clinic. (They areasking for no fees.) They wrote the letters immediately and Maria and Iwill apply for his visa to travel tomorrow. We have alot to do tomorrowmorning but if all goes well, sans kidnapping, we will get on an AA flightat 3 PM tomorrow for Cleveland. (There have been dozens of kidnappings inthe last 2 months here with white Americans as prime targets.)
Jackson is doing some better. I added spironolactone to his meds and heseemed to start to mobilized some of his ascites and feels better. Hebreathes well at rest and I have only seen him really dyspneic once ortwice. His heart still sounds terrible of course. His liver remainspulsatile and big.
We wish we were bringing Jackson to you. You know the faith I have inyou. I never received a response from OSF since my pleading with them forJackson started in May. Unfortunately, even with YOU advocating forJackson to the “committee”, I had no faith that they would accept him evenfor 20,000 dollars. The events that occurred while you were gone forseveral years, diminished my faith in CHOI to a very, very low level. Iknow we all see from where we stand, but some incredible events occuredwhich does not instill much confidence in the business leaders at OSF orCHOI. Jackson is the third Haitian Hearts patient OSF has rejected in thelast one and one half years—Willie (we offered full charges for hisfailed pacemaker generator–he was syncopal and in heart failure when Iexamined him in Haiti in Feb, 04 with a heart rate that did not go above60), Faustina (we offered 10,000 dollars…fortunately, she has beenaccepted as well for no charge, and will be leaving Haiti in a week forher mitral stenosis), and Jackson. All 3 kids were/are in terrible shapeand OSF-CHOI was going to let them die in Haiti. This is so wrong. As Isaid, I want you and the other docs at CHOI and the nursing staff to takecare of these kids, but the administrative team at OSF is so incompetentand uncaring about these Haitian Hearts patients, I don’t ever see CHOIbecoming what it really could with them running the show. You areemblematic of what a childrens hospital should be about. They are not. Istill love OSF because OSF is not the administrative team and corporate.It is the people that give the care at the bedside, in my opinion. Thereare 5,000 good employees that work at OSF.
Doug, there will be other Haitian Hearts patients that need valvereplacements. I know of three right now. I will approach OSF the same wayand hope that the current administrators are gone and replaced withadministrators that agree with the hippocratic (sp?) oath and good medicalethics. My hope is that doctors and nurses in Peoria really publicallyquestion the administrative team at OSF and say that patient abandonmentlike this must stop.
Thanks for reviewing all the echoes over all of the years and giving thesekids and all kids your best, Doug.
John
Letter to Cardiologist for Jackson
Date: 26 Dec 2005 16:05:37 -0000From: “Realname”
Subject: Jackson
Dear Doug,
Hope you had a good Christmas.
Doug, through some fairly miraculous circumstances during the last coupleof days, Jean-Baptiste was accepted into Cleveland Clinic. (They areasking for no fees.) They wrote the letters immediately and Maria and Iwill apply for his visa to travel tomorrow. We have alot to do tomorrowmorning but if all goes well, sans kidnapping, we will get on an AA flightat 3 PM tomorrow for Cleveland. (There have been dozens of kidnappings inthe last 2 months here with white Americans as prime targets.)
Jackson is doing some better. I added spironolactone to his meds and heseemed to start to mobilized some of his ascites and feels better. Hebreathes well at rest and I have only seen him really dyspneic once ortwice. His heart still sounds terrible of course. His liver remainspulsatile and big.
We wish we were bringing Jackson to you. You know the faith I have inyou. I never received a response from OSF since my pleading with them forJackson started in May. Unfortunately, even with YOU advocating forJackson to the “committee”, I had no faith that they would accept him evenfor 20,000 dollars. The events that occurred while you were gone forseveral years, diminished my faith in CHOI to a very, very low level. Iknow we all see from where we stand, but some incredible events occuredwhich does not instill much confidence in the business leaders at OSF orCHOI. Jackson is the third Haitian Hearts patient OSF has rejected in thelast one and one half years—Willie (we offered full charges for hisfailed pacemaker generator–he was syncopal and in heart failure when Iexamined him in Haiti in Feb, 04 with a heart rate that did not go above60), Faustina (we offered 10,000 dollars…fortunately, she has beenaccepted as well for no charge, and will be leaving Haiti in a week forher mitral stenosis), and Jackson. All 3 kids were/are in terrible shapeand OSF-CHOI was going to let them die in Haiti. This is so wrong. As Isaid, I want you and the other docs at CHOI and the nursing staff to takecare of these kids, but the administrative team at OSF is so incompetentand uncaring about these Haitian Hearts patients, I don’t ever see CHOIbecoming what it really could with them running the show. You areemblematic of what a childrens hospital should be about. They are not. Istill love OSF because OSF is not the administrative team and corporate.It is the people that give the care at the bedside, in my opinion. Thereare 5,000 good employees that work at OSF.
Doug, there will be other Haitian Hearts patients that need valvereplacements. I know of three right now. I will approach OSF the same wayand hope that the current administrators are gone and replaced withadministrators that agree with the hippocratic (sp?) oath and good medicalethics. My hope is that doctors and nurses in Peoria really publicallyquestion the administrative team at OSF and say that patient abandonmentlike this must stop.
Thanks for reviewing all the echoes over all of the years and giving thesekids and all kids your best, Doug.
John
Monday, February 06, 2006
Catholic Bioethics Seminar--February, 2006
On Saturday, February 4, 2006, a Catholic Bioethics Seminar was held at St. Sharbel’s Church in Peoria, Il. The key note speakers were Father Michael Bliss, Dr. Gerald McShane, and Joe Piccione.
Father Bliss is OSF’s chaplain and a member of the ethics committee at OSF. Dr. McShane is employed at OSF Corporate and is Chair of OSF Ethics Committee. Joe Piccione is the OSF Corporate Ethicist, a lawyer, and philosopher.
Father Bliss gave the first talk. His comments included that “medical ethics is doing good for people in a good way”, “we need to recognize the patient’s dignity and realize the greatest good for the patient”, and that oral contraceptives can, at times, “bring about death”. Father held up a pamphlet describing the ethical and religious directives of the bishops and stated it was very good and easy to read. I happened to have my own copy with me at the seminar.
When Father was done speaking, he asked if there were any questions from the audience. I raised my hand and stated that Haitian Hearts had buried a patient one week prior who had been refused by OSF, and I wanted to know why and how we can avoid this “problem” in the future. Well, Father Bliss would have none of this and cut me off mid question and stated that he would not answer my questions and had no comments. I told him that I thought it was his responsibility to tell the public why OSF had abandoned this young Haitian man (Jackson Jean-Baptiste). He said “no further comment” and that Bishop Jenky had dealt with this problem in the past. That was it. He obviously did not want the crowd to hear my questions or comments and what was he going to say that could possibly defend OSF’s actions and went against the ethical directives of the US bishops. He was in a losing position and knew it.
The next speaker was Dr. McShane. He gave a talk on doctor-patient relationships and said that this relationship is fundamental. He had a nice but very simple handout. Compassion and caring is key. He referred to himself as a good physician. His handout referred to the emotional, physical, and spiritual needs of the patient. His handout went on and on. Dr. McShane’s voice was shaky and nervous. He stated half way through his speech that “John Carroll will probably have some questions for me”.
When Dr. McShane was done with his pitch, he asked if there were questions and looked at me. I again raised my hand and told him that his words were beautiful but that OSF had acted the opposite with regards to my dead Haitian patient and I wanted to know why. To my surprise, Dr. McShane stated that he would not answer my question regarding the deceased Haitian that was refused care at OSF. He told the crowd that I was bringing up this topic “every six months”. Dr. McShane is paid a huge salary by OSF Corporate to give these talks and he is very grateful for the generosity of the Sisters.
Their was a panel discussion that followed and a question was asked regarding birth control pills being prescribed by a Catholic medical center. Dr. McShane stated that it would be “sinful” to use the pill as an oral contraceptive. Joe Piccione shook his head yes. I asked, at that point, why Joe Piccione had come to Peoria in 1993 to help establish a protocol so OSF physicians and the OSF Health Plan could offer oral contraceptives and sterilization. I had the newspaper article in my hand that described what Piccione and our previous bishop and the OSF Sisters had developed last decade regarding oral contraceptives and sterilization. Piccione tried to defend his actions and stated that Bishop Meyers agreed with him as does Bishop Jenky and actually Pope Benedict would be in agreement with OSF’s stand on birth control pills and their allocation. Piccione was really reaching when he said that the Pope would be in agreement. I asked Joe if it was about money and he replied “no”, however, I held up the PJS article where he was quoted about the need for oral contraceptives if OSF was to stay competitive in the health care field. Joe seemed to be at conflict with his statements a decade before. At that point the priest who was moderator became quite angry with me and told me that I could not ask any more questions. This poor priest is a parish priest at St. Sharbel’s and probably was worried that OSF would be upset with him if the speakers were made to look too hypocritical.
So that was that. The bioethics seminar was very elementary and misleading to the public and some of the crowd went away confused. I am also sure that most people there would have sided with the ethicists because my questions and comments were pointing out things that the crowd wouldn’t think were possible at OSF with the Bishop and even the Pope supporting, Good people, like the crowd at St. Sharbel’s, want to believe that their Catholic leaders are leading them in the correct moral direction. This is such a shame and emblematic of the horrible situation in which the Catholic Church in the US finds itself today.
Father Bliss is OSF’s chaplain and a member of the ethics committee at OSF. Dr. McShane is employed at OSF Corporate and is Chair of OSF Ethics Committee. Joe Piccione is the OSF Corporate Ethicist, a lawyer, and philosopher.
Father Bliss gave the first talk. His comments included that “medical ethics is doing good for people in a good way”, “we need to recognize the patient’s dignity and realize the greatest good for the patient”, and that oral contraceptives can, at times, “bring about death”. Father held up a pamphlet describing the ethical and religious directives of the bishops and stated it was very good and easy to read. I happened to have my own copy with me at the seminar.
When Father was done speaking, he asked if there were any questions from the audience. I raised my hand and stated that Haitian Hearts had buried a patient one week prior who had been refused by OSF, and I wanted to know why and how we can avoid this “problem” in the future. Well, Father Bliss would have none of this and cut me off mid question and stated that he would not answer my questions and had no comments. I told him that I thought it was his responsibility to tell the public why OSF had abandoned this young Haitian man (Jackson Jean-Baptiste). He said “no further comment” and that Bishop Jenky had dealt with this problem in the past. That was it. He obviously did not want the crowd to hear my questions or comments and what was he going to say that could possibly defend OSF’s actions and went against the ethical directives of the US bishops. He was in a losing position and knew it.
The next speaker was Dr. McShane. He gave a talk on doctor-patient relationships and said that this relationship is fundamental. He had a nice but very simple handout. Compassion and caring is key. He referred to himself as a good physician. His handout referred to the emotional, physical, and spiritual needs of the patient. His handout went on and on. Dr. McShane’s voice was shaky and nervous. He stated half way through his speech that “John Carroll will probably have some questions for me”.
When Dr. McShane was done with his pitch, he asked if there were questions and looked at me. I again raised my hand and told him that his words were beautiful but that OSF had acted the opposite with regards to my dead Haitian patient and I wanted to know why. To my surprise, Dr. McShane stated that he would not answer my question regarding the deceased Haitian that was refused care at OSF. He told the crowd that I was bringing up this topic “every six months”. Dr. McShane is paid a huge salary by OSF Corporate to give these talks and he is very grateful for the generosity of the Sisters.
Their was a panel discussion that followed and a question was asked regarding birth control pills being prescribed by a Catholic medical center. Dr. McShane stated that it would be “sinful” to use the pill as an oral contraceptive. Joe Piccione shook his head yes. I asked, at that point, why Joe Piccione had come to Peoria in 1993 to help establish a protocol so OSF physicians and the OSF Health Plan could offer oral contraceptives and sterilization. I had the newspaper article in my hand that described what Piccione and our previous bishop and the OSF Sisters had developed last decade regarding oral contraceptives and sterilization. Piccione tried to defend his actions and stated that Bishop Meyers agreed with him as does Bishop Jenky and actually Pope Benedict would be in agreement with OSF’s stand on birth control pills and their allocation. Piccione was really reaching when he said that the Pope would be in agreement. I asked Joe if it was about money and he replied “no”, however, I held up the PJS article where he was quoted about the need for oral contraceptives if OSF was to stay competitive in the health care field. Joe seemed to be at conflict with his statements a decade before. At that point the priest who was moderator became quite angry with me and told me that I could not ask any more questions. This poor priest is a parish priest at St. Sharbel’s and probably was worried that OSF would be upset with him if the speakers were made to look too hypocritical.
So that was that. The bioethics seminar was very elementary and misleading to the public and some of the crowd went away confused. I am also sure that most people there would have sided with the ethicists because my questions and comments were pointing out things that the crowd wouldn’t think were possible at OSF with the Bishop and even the Pope supporting, Good people, like the crowd at St. Sharbel’s, want to believe that their Catholic leaders are leading them in the correct moral direction. This is such a shame and emblematic of the horrible situation in which the Catholic Church in the US finds itself today.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Father Jean-Juste Released
Fr. Gerry Released!
-----Original Message-----From: BrianhaitiSent: Sun, 29 Jan 2006 12:18:51 PM Eastern Standard TimeSubject: Fr. Gerry Released!Fr. Gerry Released!January 29, Noon ETWe have great news: Political prisoner Fr. Gerard-Jean-Juste, "Fr. Gerry" is right now on a plane in the air from Port-au-Prince to Miami. A cancer center in Florida has agreed to treat his leukemia, so he will get immediate attention for the cancer, as well as for the pneumonia he contracted this week.Fr. Gerry was granted a provisional release, which requires him to return to Haiti after the treatment to face the charges still pending against him. The current charges against him are as baseless as the other charges which have been dismissed. Fr. Gerry's lawyers at the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) have filed an appeal, asking for the charges to be dismissed. The appeals court can rule on the appeal without Fr. Gerry's presence, so it is possible that the case will be dismissed without requiring him to return to court. If he is forced to return to court, the BAI lawyers will continue to fight the charges.In the meantime, Fr. Gerry will be relatively safe, and will have his leukemia treated. Doctors who have examined him are hopeful that his disease is at a stage where it can be successfully treated, but they cannot be certain without more tests.Today's victory proves the Haitian proverb, "men anpil, chay pa lou-: many hands makes the load light. This mobilization has been by far the strongest and most persistent Haiti advocacy effort in the ten years that I have been involved in Haiti work. Everyone who called, faxed, wrote or emailed Haitian and US officials, everyone who signed a petition, everyone who forwarded information about Fr. Gerry to their church, their friends, and their family, should be proud. Close to a dozen human rights groups, over 50 members of the US Congress, and hundreds of religious, political and human rights leaders from all over the world joined together to make this moment possible.Together we demonstrated that the world does care, that justice is possible, and that collective action does work. No small accomplishment.Fr. Gerry said in a letter from prison on Friday: "understand that I wish you all to extendyour support not only to me but to as many political prisoners as possible wherever on planet earth. Probably, you are aware that there are quite a number of political prisoners around the world. Think of them and keep them in your heart.. I am very grateful to Amnesty International and to all of you for helping fight for the human rights of all political prisoners, here in Haiti and across the world. Let's keep the momentum on for justice, peace, love, and sharing to prevail all over the world as God wants it."Today we should all take the time to pat ourselves on the back. But tomorrow we need to get back to work, to help the political prisoners that Fr. Gerry left behind in Haiti.Peace, BrianBrian Concannon Jr., Esq.DirectorInstitute for Justice & Democracy in HaitiPO Box 745Joseph, OR 97846541-432-0597http://www.ijdh.org/Brian@IJDH.ORG
-----Original Message-----From: BrianhaitiSent: Sun, 29 Jan 2006 12:18:51 PM Eastern Standard TimeSubject: Fr. Gerry Released!Fr. Gerry Released!January 29, Noon ETWe have great news: Political prisoner Fr. Gerard-Jean-Juste, "Fr. Gerry" is right now on a plane in the air from Port-au-Prince to Miami. A cancer center in Florida has agreed to treat his leukemia, so he will get immediate attention for the cancer, as well as for the pneumonia he contracted this week.Fr. Gerry was granted a provisional release, which requires him to return to Haiti after the treatment to face the charges still pending against him. The current charges against him are as baseless as the other charges which have been dismissed. Fr. Gerry's lawyers at the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) have filed an appeal, asking for the charges to be dismissed. The appeals court can rule on the appeal without Fr. Gerry's presence, so it is possible that the case will be dismissed without requiring him to return to court. If he is forced to return to court, the BAI lawyers will continue to fight the charges.In the meantime, Fr. Gerry will be relatively safe, and will have his leukemia treated. Doctors who have examined him are hopeful that his disease is at a stage where it can be successfully treated, but they cannot be certain without more tests.Today's victory proves the Haitian proverb, "men anpil, chay pa lou-: many hands makes the load light. This mobilization has been by far the strongest and most persistent Haiti advocacy effort in the ten years that I have been involved in Haiti work. Everyone who called, faxed, wrote or emailed Haitian and US officials, everyone who signed a petition, everyone who forwarded information about Fr. Gerry to their church, their friends, and their family, should be proud. Close to a dozen human rights groups, over 50 members of the US Congress, and hundreds of religious, political and human rights leaders from all over the world joined together to make this moment possible.Together we demonstrated that the world does care, that justice is possible, and that collective action does work. No small accomplishment.Fr. Gerry said in a letter from prison on Friday: "understand that I wish you all to extendyour support not only to me but to as many political prisoners as possible wherever on planet earth. Probably, you are aware that there are quite a number of political prisoners around the world. Think of them and keep them in your heart.. I am very grateful to Amnesty International and to all of you for helping fight for the human rights of all political prisoners, here in Haiti and across the world. Let's keep the momentum on for justice, peace, love, and sharing to prevail all over the world as God wants it."Today we should all take the time to pat ourselves on the back. But tomorrow we need to get back to work, to help the political prisoners that Fr. Gerry left behind in Haiti.Peace, BrianBrian Concannon Jr., Esq.DirectorInstitute for Justice & Democracy in HaitiPO Box 745Joseph, OR 97846541-432-0597http://www.ijdh.org/Brian@IJDH.ORG
Jackson Jean-Baptiste and the Steffens
Date: Sun Jan 29 16:07:13 2006From: "Realname" To: keith.e.steffen@osfhealthcare.orgCC: sisterjudithann@osfhealthcare.orgSubject: Jackson Jean-Baptiste and You
Dear Keith,
We buried Jackson Jean-Baptiste yesterday in the Apostolic Christian Cemetery in Congerville. Many people attended the ceremony and were saddened that he did not receive the treatment he needed from OSF.
Ironically, Jackson will now be eternally surrounded by Steffens that preceded him in death and are buried close to him at this beautiful site overlooking the valley.
I am sure Jackson forgave you before he died and he and all the Steffens that preceded him in death will do whatever saints do to help all of us join them some day in Heaven.
John Carroll
Dear Keith,
We buried Jackson Jean-Baptiste yesterday in the Apostolic Christian Cemetery in Congerville. Many people attended the ceremony and were saddened that he did not receive the treatment he needed from OSF.
Ironically, Jackson will now be eternally surrounded by Steffens that preceded him in death and are buried close to him at this beautiful site overlooking the valley.
I am sure Jackson forgave you before he died and he and all the Steffens that preceded him in death will do whatever saints do to help all of us join them some day in Heaven.
John Carroll
Friday, January 27, 2006
Father Jean-Juste Has Pneumonia
Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2006 09:55:24 -0800 (PST)From: bill quigley
ACTION STEPS: call 1) Haiti's Ambassador to the U.S. Ray Joseph (202 332 4090), 2) U.S. State Dept Haiti Desk Officer Daniel Stewart (202 647-4755), 3) and the Human Rights Officer in the US Embassy in Haiti, Dana Banks, (011-509-223-0707 ext, 8270, or 011 509 222 0200), BanksD@state.gov.Doctor's report TODAY 1.26.06: "marked deterioration of his condition since I last saw him two weeks ago." "his health has steadily deteriorated. Over the last four days he has had a fever and cough, and was diagnosed with pneumonia. His blood cell counts have dropped markedly due to the leukemia, and he appears extremely pale, fatigued, and with visible skin bruises due to his rapidly advancing disease.", "Father Jean-Juste requires immediate hospital-level care for this deteriorating condition. Further, given his precipitously low blood cell counts?significantly worse than two weeks ago?it is imperative that he also receives immediate treatment for his leukemia. Without this treatment he will die in prison."26 January 2006Mr. Brian ConcannonInstitute for Justice and Democracy in HaitiP.O. Box 745Joseph, OR 97846Fax: +1-541-432-0264Re: Health of Gerard Jean-JusteDear Mr. Concannon,I am writing because I am deeply concerned about the health of Father Gerard Jean-Juste. I am currently in Port-au-Prince, where I have just examined Father Jean-Juste and am alarmed at the marked deterioration of his condition since I last saw him two weeks ago.As you know, Father Jean-Juste was diagnosed with leukemia a few weeks ago. This diagnosis was confirmed by Haitian physicians two weeks ago. Since that time, his health has steadily deteriorated. Over the last four days he has had a fever and cough, and was diagnosed with pneumonia. His blood cell counts have dropped markedly due to the leukemia, and he appears extremely pale, fatigued, and with visible skin bruises due to his rapidly advancing disease.While he has received some antibiotics in prison for the pneumonia, Father Jean-Juste requires immediate hospital-level care for this deteriorating condition. Further, given his precipitously low blood cell counts?significantly worse than two weeks ago?it is imperative that he also receives immediate treatment for his leukemia. Without this treatment he will die in prison. There is no time to waste.Thank you for any assistance you can provide for Father Jean-Juste.Sincerely,Jennifer Furin, MD, PhDHarvard Medical SchoolACTION STEPS: call 1) Haiti's Ambassador to the U.S. Ray Joseph (202 332 4090), 2) U.S. State Dept Haiti Desk Officer Daniel Stewart (202 647-4755), 3) and the Human Rights Officer in the US Embassy in Haiti, Dana Banks, (011-509-223-0707 ext, 8270, or 011 509 222 0200), BanksD@state.gov.
Jackson's Obituary
Tuesday, January 24, 2006 5:01 PMSubject: Fw: Jackson Jean-Baptiste Obit and Photo----- Original Message JACKSON JEAN-BAPTISTEGoodfield - Jackson Jean - Baptiste, 21 years old, from La Boul, Haiti, formerly living with host parents in Goodfield, died at 12:30 AM on January 21, 2006 in Cleveland, Ohio. He was born on August 1, 1984 in Petion-Ville, Haiti to Maxil and Rosette Jean-Baptiste.He is survived by his mother, Rosette, and one sister, Nadia in Haiti. His father and 2 brothers preceded him in death.Funeral mass will be held at 10:00 am on Friday January 17, 2006 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, formerly St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church, in Peoria. Visitation will be held from 6-8 pm on Thursday at Argo-Ruestman-Harris Funeral Home in Eureka. A grave side service will be held at 10 am on Saturday at the Goodfield-Congerville Apostolic Christian Cemetery in Congerville.Jackson attended school in Haiti for 9 years that was interrupted frequently by heart problems caused by rheumatic heart disease. He was brought to the United States by Haitian Hearts in 2001 for heart surgery in Peoria. In May, 2005 Jackson was diagnosed with a recurrent heart problem and brought to Cleveland Clinic on December 27 where he was treated.During his stay in central Illinois, he stayed with loving host families in the area and attended school at Eureka Middle School. Jackson was very intelligent and spoke French, English, and his native Haitian Creole.During the last six months of his life, Jackson suffered tremendously due to his heart problems. He was a victim of poverty and greed that sustains and propagates the degrading conditions in which he and his family lived in Haiti. Jackson was very independent and strong and fought to keep himself alive and deserved much more dignity as a human being than he was given.Jackson's mother has now lost her main source of strength. He will greatly be missed by his Haitian family and his host families in Illinois. Online condolence will be received at ruestmanharrisfuneralhome.com and will be forwarded to Jackson's mother in Haiti.Donations can be made to Rosette, his mother, through Haitian Hearts PO Box 2363 East Peoria, IL 61611.
Jackson Dies
On January 21, 2006, Jackson was pronounced dead at Cleveland Clinic. Maria and I were at his bedside in intensive care when he died.
Jackson had struggled the last few days of his life and a heroic procedeure was attempted by the interventional cardiologist to bypass his sick mitral valve. His heart just didn't respond to this intervention.
Jackson touched a lot of people's lives at Cleveland Clinic. Many nurses came to visit him when he would move from one floor to another.
Jackson's past and present illnesses and death were all preventable. We all needed to try harder for Jackson.
Jackson had struggled the last few days of his life and a heroic procedeure was attempted by the interventional cardiologist to bypass his sick mitral valve. His heart just didn't respond to this intervention.
Jackson touched a lot of people's lives at Cleveland Clinic. Many nurses came to visit him when he would move from one floor to another.
Jackson's past and present illnesses and death were all preventable. We all needed to try harder for Jackson.
Jackson Jean-Baptiste's Autopsy
Date: 24 Jan 2006 22:17:21 -0000From: "Realname" To: pgibson@cdop.org, sisterjudithann@osfhealthcare.org, keith.e.steffen@osfhealthcare.org, paul.s.kramer@osfhealthcare.org, joseph.j.piccione@osfhealthcare.org.dmarshall@hinshawlaw.com
Dear Bishop Jenky, Sister Judith Ann, Keith, Paul, Gerry, Joe, and Doug Marshall,
We were present on Friday morning when Jean-Baptiste died just a few minutes after midnight. His death was slow and painful over the last several months. However, the last few days were his worst and his screams would bring him out of his low flow slumber. I will spare you further details of his last several hours understanding why none of you would have wanted to witness it. If Jean-Baptiste would just have slipped away silently in his cinder block house in the mountains of Haiti as designed, it would have been much easier on all of us. I was able to participate in Jean-Baptiste's autopsy yesterday morning. As I entered the pathology room, I saw his body lying on the second silver stainless steel table. There were various obnoxious appearing tubes and catheters protruding from it. They were all clogged, cold, and useless as was the body from which they came. However, the pathologist and technician treated Jean-Baptiste with more sensitivity and care than he had received during most of his 21 years of life in Haiti. They carefully and meticulously removed his heart, lungs, liver, and brain.Jean-Baptiste's heart was enlarged and muscular due to all the extra work it had to do to keep him alive since a "disease of antiquity", rheumatic fever, had destroyed his valves a decade ago. A white fibrous scar tissue was abundant and stuck on the front side of his heart due to his previous surgery and the inflammation that the merciless rheumatic fever rendered. I introduced my left index finger into the superior vein leading into his heart which immediately entered a vacuous right atrium. With little effort my finger slipped through his incompetent tricuspid valve into his massive right ventricle. Using my right index finger and thumb to palpate, the left ventricle felt thick and very strong.An incision was then made through the left atrium which allowed us to stare down at his rock-hard mitral valve. All three leaflets were calcificed and immobile when tapped with a scissors. This valve was the anatomic culprit behind Jean-Baptiste's suffering. It would not let his blood flow to where it wanted but reversed it and flooded his congested and blue lungs and liver. The doctors in Peoria had seen this problem last spring and wanted to fix it. But unfortunatley, you didn't give them and Jean-Baptiste the chance. Jean-Baptiste's perfect brain weighed 1,150 grams. I guess his brain bothered me the most because it was indeed perfect. This beautiful gray organ had guided him his entire life and had no blod clots, was not atrophied, and had no tangles or plaques confusing his thinking. As I looked at it, I wondered which part controlled Jean-Baptiste's will to live, his independence, and his ability to speak three languages. Which lobe allowed him to forgive? I knew that he wouldn't tell me now, even if he could, how he rationalized his deplorable life which was devoid of dignity which should be "usual and customary" for human beings.The official autopsy report won't be out for five weeks. The attending pathologist is excellent; however his report will most likely be incomplete. Causes of death probably won't include poverty without dignity and abandonment. As the first part of the autopsy concluded, I felt very guilty as I looked at the remains of Jean-Baptiste. To have sent him back to Haiti after his surgery was my mistake. To have believed in you and trusted was a serious miscalculation on my part which helped to shorten the life of our young friend. I did not anticipate and would not have believed your silence as this innocent pleaded for your help.Jean-Baptiste's death explicitly reveals the ugly underside to the corporate Catholic "health care system", formerly known as Catholic hospitals. Multiple biblical passages mentioning the poor, a large litany of Catholic social justice teachings, and the OSF mission statements all supported helping Jean-Baptiste when he needed it. He certainly didn't need an attorney to advocate for him. His defense had been written years ago. Unfortunately, you all failed him as you ignored central teachings of the faith. A few more years of soccer games and Dairy Queens wouldn't have hurt Jean-Baptiste and definitely would have helped all of us. I was finally able to talk with Jackson's Haitian mountain family on the phone yesterday. His 18 year old sister Nadia cheerfully answered the phone. She had brought Jean-Baptiste mangoes in Haiti during his sickest days in December, while many people frantically searched for a medical center to accept him in the United States. I told her Jean-Baptiste died and heard her shriek uncontrollably as the line went dead.
John Carroll, MD.
Dear Bishop Jenky, Sister Judith Ann, Keith, Paul, Gerry, Joe, and Doug Marshall,
We were present on Friday morning when Jean-Baptiste died just a few minutes after midnight. His death was slow and painful over the last several months. However, the last few days were his worst and his screams would bring him out of his low flow slumber. I will spare you further details of his last several hours understanding why none of you would have wanted to witness it. If Jean-Baptiste would just have slipped away silently in his cinder block house in the mountains of Haiti as designed, it would have been much easier on all of us. I was able to participate in Jean-Baptiste's autopsy yesterday morning. As I entered the pathology room, I saw his body lying on the second silver stainless steel table. There were various obnoxious appearing tubes and catheters protruding from it. They were all clogged, cold, and useless as was the body from which they came. However, the pathologist and technician treated Jean-Baptiste with more sensitivity and care than he had received during most of his 21 years of life in Haiti. They carefully and meticulously removed his heart, lungs, liver, and brain.Jean-Baptiste's heart was enlarged and muscular due to all the extra work it had to do to keep him alive since a "disease of antiquity", rheumatic fever, had destroyed his valves a decade ago. A white fibrous scar tissue was abundant and stuck on the front side of his heart due to his previous surgery and the inflammation that the merciless rheumatic fever rendered. I introduced my left index finger into the superior vein leading into his heart which immediately entered a vacuous right atrium. With little effort my finger slipped through his incompetent tricuspid valve into his massive right ventricle. Using my right index finger and thumb to palpate, the left ventricle felt thick and very strong.An incision was then made through the left atrium which allowed us to stare down at his rock-hard mitral valve. All three leaflets were calcificed and immobile when tapped with a scissors. This valve was the anatomic culprit behind Jean-Baptiste's suffering. It would not let his blood flow to where it wanted but reversed it and flooded his congested and blue lungs and liver. The doctors in Peoria had seen this problem last spring and wanted to fix it. But unfortunatley, you didn't give them and Jean-Baptiste the chance. Jean-Baptiste's perfect brain weighed 1,150 grams. I guess his brain bothered me the most because it was indeed perfect. This beautiful gray organ had guided him his entire life and had no blod clots, was not atrophied, and had no tangles or plaques confusing his thinking. As I looked at it, I wondered which part controlled Jean-Baptiste's will to live, his independence, and his ability to speak three languages. Which lobe allowed him to forgive? I knew that he wouldn't tell me now, even if he could, how he rationalized his deplorable life which was devoid of dignity which should be "usual and customary" for human beings.The official autopsy report won't be out for five weeks. The attending pathologist is excellent; however his report will most likely be incomplete. Causes of death probably won't include poverty without dignity and abandonment. As the first part of the autopsy concluded, I felt very guilty as I looked at the remains of Jean-Baptiste. To have sent him back to Haiti after his surgery was my mistake. To have believed in you and trusted was a serious miscalculation on my part which helped to shorten the life of our young friend. I did not anticipate and would not have believed your silence as this innocent pleaded for your help.Jean-Baptiste's death explicitly reveals the ugly underside to the corporate Catholic "health care system", formerly known as Catholic hospitals. Multiple biblical passages mentioning the poor, a large litany of Catholic social justice teachings, and the OSF mission statements all supported helping Jean-Baptiste when he needed it. He certainly didn't need an attorney to advocate for him. His defense had been written years ago. Unfortunately, you all failed him as you ignored central teachings of the faith. A few more years of soccer games and Dairy Queens wouldn't have hurt Jean-Baptiste and definitely would have helped all of us. I was finally able to talk with Jackson's Haitian mountain family on the phone yesterday. His 18 year old sister Nadia cheerfully answered the phone. She had brought Jean-Baptiste mangoes in Haiti during his sickest days in December, while many people frantically searched for a medical center to accept him in the United States. I told her Jean-Baptiste died and heard her shriek uncontrollably as the line went dead.
John Carroll, MD.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Martin Luther King Day in Haiti's Prison
------ Forwarded MessageFrom: Brian Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2006 08:32:39 -0800To: Subject: [Lethaitilive] MLK Day in Port au Prince Prison with Fr. Jean-JusteMLK Day in Port au Prince Prison with Fr. Jean-Juste by Bill Quigley writing from Port au Prince. We ended our prison visit in Haiti on Martin Luther King, Jr. day with Fr. Jean-Juste by standing hand in hand and singing "We Shall Overcome." Fr. Jean-Juste has been in prison since July on sham charges in order to silence his life long voice for justice for the poor and democracy for all. Amnesty International has designated him a prisoner of conscience
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