After the Quake, Evena Finds Care For Her Broken Foot

Waiting in an overcrowded hospital after the earthquake, 22-year-old Evena worried she would never get the care she needed for her severely broken foot. But after receiving orthopedic surgery at St. Boniface Hospital, Evena is on the road to recovery.

A woman is helped into a wheelchair. A white ambulance is in the background with its back doors open. A woman in a bright yellow tank top has her arms around two people on her left and right. They are helping her sit into a wheelchair. The woman on the right wears a white shirt and a colorful headscarf. The man on the left wears a black t-shirt and a white cap.

Evena is helped into a wheelchair after she arrived at St. Boniface Hospital.

Evena comes from an area of Les Cayes called Brefette. She was home in the earthquake struck, though at first, she couldn’t tell what was happening—she thought someone had thrown a rock into her house. Evena ran to her neighbor’s house and quickly realized that an earthquake was ravaging her town. She managed to escape as the house fell around her, but a heavy piece of concrete slammed onto her left foot. It began to swell rapidly, and she couldn’t put any weight on it.

Evena was taken to a nearby hospital, which was already overwhelmed with survivors needing urgent care. “There were so many people,” Evena said. “I couldn't get the care I deserved.” After a long wait, a clinician told her she was being transferred to St. Boniface Hospital. Soon, a St. Boniface ambulance was taking her on the rocky, two-hour drive to Fond des Blancs. Once in our care, an X-ray showed that her foot was broken; Evena needed surgery to repair the break properly and ensure she could walk normally again.

A woman sits on a hospital bed while a clinician tends to her foot. The woman is wearing a bright yellow tank top. She looks to her left and appears to be in pain. The clinician stands to her right and tends to the woman's wounded foot. The clinician wears an orange headband, blue medical mask, and black and orange scrubs.

A clinician tends to Evena's foot before surgery.

“When I arrived at St. Boniface, they welcomed me and gave me good care,” Evena says. “I went into the operating room, and the surgeons fixed the damage to my foot. Now I’m feeling better, and I’m happy because the doctors made sure to take care of everything that could have further damaged my foot. I’m so thankful to St. Boniface Hospital.”

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