"I didn't know I could get this level of care in rural Haiti"

Last Sunday morning Abner Landayan experienced a sharp pain in his lower right side. “The pain got worse and worse overnight and I finally asked my partner to take me to the hospital in L’Asile. The doctors there suspected that I had appendicitis, but because they had no surgery program they couldn’t help me.” The medical director at L’Asile transferred Abner to Fond des Blancs, explaining that St. Boniface Hospital has a prestigious surgical program. Upon arrival, our ER team quickly diagnosed appendicitis and scheduled an emergency surgery. 

Abner is originally from the Phillipines, but has been working in Haiti for the past seven years. He currently works for USAID, repairing the healthcare infrastructure in the Jeremie area, a few hours drive west of Fond des Blancs. “When the doctor told me to go to Fond des Blancs, I was shocked,” Abner explained. “Well, actually, I was in so much pain that I couldn’t even imagine getting to Port-au-Prince. I am familiar with the standard of care I can expect in this part of the country–I had no idea I could receive this quality care in such a remote area. I’m so grateful that the St. Boniface team was able to take care of me.”

We’re glad to be able to help all of our patients, and happy that Abner will be able to soon get back to his important work repairing health centers that were damaged by Hurricane Matthew.