Cholera Advancing- Note from Fr. Rick

I've copied a plea from Fr. Rick in Haiti:

Cholera Getting Closer, We Need Your Help

Message from Fr. Rick Frechette.
November 10, 2010 - Haiti

Fr. Rick at Cholera hospital in St. Marc. [3/3]

The hurricane veered away from Port-au-Prince, and went pretty much between Cuba and Haiti . . . We were unscathed at our mission, but there is major flooding in our vicinity (neck-high waters).

The day after the storm we were able to send by land and helicopter supplies to Dame Marie (a coastal town in Jeremy), the coastal area of Les Cayes (through Bishop Poulard), to Gonaives (through Bishop Pean), and to Port-de-Paix by truck. We will continue doing this to other areas as well. We are also delivering supplies to the tent villages near our hospital.

We have been working hard against Cholera. We drove through four high and strong rivers to get to Port-de-Paix to help the Sisters. We found about 20 half-dead people all along the seven-hour drive. They were severely dehydrated. We gave IV fluids all along the way, pulling the people into our trucks and leaving one truck by the Marcel River to be a temporary IV station.

Statistics now say over 6,000 are infected and over 500 have died. There are more and more cases in Port-au-Prince. We are ready to receive up to 400 Cholera patients next to our St. Luke hospital when Doctors Without Borders, our neighbors, have no more space.

What we need mostly are the IV catheters that go directly to the bone. The drills that put them in the bone are expensive. The catheters are $100 each. We sent what we had to the Sisters in Port-de-Paix. We need about four more drills and 1,000 catheters for starters. We can buy these at a hospital in Ohio and get them here immediately. Even with the discounts we get, we still need about $90,000 total to buy these items.

Please donate today to help us fighting the cholera.

Or contact your local fundraising office if you are able to help. In the US, please visit: www.friendsoftheorphans.org/cholerahelp

Fr. Rick Frechette
National Director NPFS Haiti