RGV medical mission takes off for Haiti
Noelia Montes braved the chilly Saturday morning temperature as she stood outside of the McCreery terminal at the McAllen International Airport and waved to the people inside the small charter airplane that was taking off.
The airplane’s takeoff was a bittersweet experience for Montes, because she was sending off her longtime boyfriend, Juan Sanchez, to the Caribbean nation of Haiti where he will take part in a medical relief mission.
Sanchez, a surgical technician at Valley Baptist Medical Center, is among a group of 20 volunteers, doctors, nurses and technicians, who will provide medical care for earthquake victims.
"We are all a little worried for him," Montes said seconds after the plane departed. "It all happened very suddenly, but we are all very proud of him because it takes a special kind of person to do what they are all doing."
Moments before boarding the plane, Sanchez said he was slightly nervous because it was his first time on a humanitarian mission.
"I have mixed feelings, but I am also very excited to be able to help," he said.
On Friday and Saturday, the group of volunteers took two separate planes from McAllen to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where they reunited before making their final run for Haiti's second largest city, Cap-Haitien, said Lonnie Stanton, a local surgeon and a veteran of humanitarian missions.
"We are all excited to be able to help," Stanton said.
In total, 100 medical volunteers from the Valley will take five different, weeklong trips to the island nation, where they will set up a makeshift hospital in one of Cap-Haitien's schools.
The 7.0-magnitude earthquake that hit the island did not significantly damage Cap-Haitien; however, the city’s hospitals are overwhelmed because many of the sick and injured are being taken there, said Dr. Juan Padilla, one of the mission's organizers.
The mission is being organized by Hope International Medical Missions, a Valley organization that has been sending medical missions to Haiti for six years. The mission that was scheduled for this coming summer was moved up because of immediate needs in Haiti.
The entire operation, which has an approximate cost of $200,000, is being funded through private donations and fundraisers, Padilla said.
The public can donate at RGVHelpsHaiti.com, using credit cards or Pay Pal.
Check donations can be mailed to Haiti Committee Ministry, 844 S. Virginia Ave., Mercedes, TX., 78570.
Cash donations can be also dropped off at information booths in local hospitals throughout the Valley.
