Local 522 Member Helps Repair Haitian Boy's Heart
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| Local 522 member Barbie Law, right, with Lovensky Alexandre and his mother Roselene Ducelus in Haiti before flying to Sacramento. |
Sacramento Metro fire captain and Local 522 member Barbie Law knows how to mend a broken heart.
In the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, Law volunteered as a medical relief worker with the non-profit humanitarian agency, Relief International. It was here that she first met seven-year-old Lovensky Alexandre.
Alexandre suffered from a congenital heart defect, which limited his ability to run and play like other children. He took heart medication to combat the chest pains, but his mother was hoping for a surgical solution - something that was not readily available in Haiti.
With the arrival of the American clinic where Law was volunteering, Alexandre's mother, Roselene Ducelus, saw new opportunity and new hope.
On their first two visits, the clinic was still in its emergency start-up phase and could not provide any assistance to Alexandre. Law wanted to help, but didn't have the tools to do so.
At least not in earthquake-torn Haiti.
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| Barbie Law takes Alexandre and Pierre LaGuerre to see a fire truck at Fire Station 106 in Sacramento. |
Law consulted her father, a practicing physician in Sacramento, and asked if any of his colleagues could help. The first cardiologist her father approached agreed to review Alexandre's records. With his particular heart defect, Alexandre would have a shortened life expectancy and would be required to take medication for the rest of his life. A fairly routine surgery could repair the defect and allow him to live a normal life. Doctors at Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento offered to perform the life-saving heart surgery for free and cover all expenses, including his hospital stay.
It was an offer that Alexandre couldn't refuse.
Law spent the next month, applying for Haitian passports and arranging air travel. The biggest hurdle was obtaining the travel visas since the U.S. Embassy in Port-Au-Prince isn't processing tourism or medical visas at this time. It seemed all hope was lost until she heard about U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and applied for humanitarian parole, which was granted.
"I've never done anything like this before but managed to achieve a lot for this little boy in a short time," said Law.
In late March, Law flew back to Haiti to pick up Alexandre and Ducelus and escort them to the Sacramento area, where they stayed with the family of Haitian expatriate Pierre LaGuerre, who is supervisor of business services for Sutter General Hospital and also a French and Creole interpreter at the hospital.
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| Barbie Law volunteered as a medical relief worker for a month following the 7.0 earthquake in Haiti. |
During their visit, Law and LaGuerre took them on a clothes shopping trip since they only had the clothes on their back when they arrived. They also visited Law's fire station, where Alexandre got to tiller the truck and learned to put up the aerial ladder.
Alexandre's original surgical date was postponed after his doctor diagnosed him with a staph infection, contracted while living on the streets of Haiti. His surgery was re-scheduled and on April 15th, after three-and-a-half hours on the operating table, his defect was repaired.
"I saw so much suffering in Haiti. There was so much that was wrong there that I was helpless to make right. This was one thing that I could do," Law said.
Law has also arranged a fundraiser for Lovensky and his family through the Sacramento Chapter of the United Nations Association to raise money for food and shelter when they return home to Haiti. They are currently living in the streets in Haiti. Contributions can be made to: UNA-USA Sacramento with the memo: For Lovensky A.- Haiti. Checks can be sent to UNA-USA, P.O. Box 183381, Sacramento, CA 95816-9381. Or visit www.unausasacramento.org for more information.
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