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Ganaël Finds the Care He Needed

A woman in a red T-shirt that says “Love” sits with a young boy on a hospital bed, gently supporting his head. He curls into her, holding her arm.

Photo © Nadia Todres

Linda cradles her son, Ganaël, in the SBH emergency room.

Our surgical team performed 4,592 procedures in the past year, including more than 500 on children under the age of 15. One of these children, Ganaël, is a 6-year-old boy who loves to play soccer. His mother, Linda, told us how she became increasingly worried about his health—and how she finally found the care he needed at St. Boniface Hospital:

“It started off with a minor fever. As the days went by, the fever rose and he began to have breathing problems. We took him to a private hospital in Petit Goâve. The doctors there told me that he had a lung infection and they gave him medication. But the medication did not work.

“So we tried another hospital, where he was on oxygen for four days. And still we did not see his condition improving.

“We asked friends for advice, and they told us about St. Boniface Hospital. We arrived here four days ago. The X-rays they did immediately showed Ganaël had water around his lungs, which needed to be drained. Dr. Jules operated on him.”

A Haitian woman in scrubs with a pink and aqua butterfly design holds a medical device in front of a young boy’s chest. The boy wears a gray T-shirt and camo pants. His mother, in a red T-shirt, looks down at him lovingly and holds his hand.

Photo © Nadia Todres

Dr. Josette Michel checks on Ganaël during his stay in the SBH emergency room. The green tank behind Ganaël’s bed supplies him with the steady stream of oxygen he needs while fighting a lung infection.

Ten Haitian men and women, most in white lab coats and with stethoscopes around their necks, stand around a young boy’s hospital bed, holding clipboards. The boy wears blue trunks and has a bandage on his right side.

Photo © Nadia Todres

Dr. Pierre Abdias Jules (right), Chief of Surgery, asks Ganaël how he’s feeling following the operation that drained excess fluid from around his lungs. Since SBH is a teaching hospital, this interaction is also a learning opportunity for a cohort of medical residents and interns.

A young Haitian boy sitting on a hospital bed, raising his arms. He has tubes on his face for oxygen and a bandage and tube on his right side. A Haitian man in a white lab coat touches the boy’s neck.

Photo © Nadia Todres

Dr. Edward Hermanley helps examine Ganaël in the post-operative ward. Dr. Jules says, “All of the staff work with their whole hearts, and patients like the way they are treated here. More and more people are coming from far away to receive the care they need.”

A Haitian man in a black T-shirt leans protectively over a hospital bed, looking at the young boy resting there with a bandaged side.

Photo © Nadia Todres

Ganaël’s father, Nathanaël, watches over him as he recovers from the operation. Nathanaël accompanied his wife and son throughout their journey to find care.

Linda continued, “Already since the operation I see a change in him, and I know he will recover soon. They are taking such good care of him here at St. Boniface—and I am hoping to be able to take my son home soon.”

Close-up portrait of a young Haitian boy half-smiling at the camera. As he relaxes on a patterned pillow, his hands by his head, tubes bring oxygen to his nostrils.

Photo © Nadia Todres

With a spark back in his eyes, Ganaël himself told us, “I know that God will make me better. And I want to go home soon because I miss my friends.”

Not long after, with Ganaël breathing easily again, the entire family departed St. Boniface Hospital to make their journey home, together.

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