We received some sad news the other day. One of our patients, beautiful Marie Amazan died. We don't think her death was directly related to the earthquake, but we aren't sure. It didn't help, that is for sure.
Marie's fiance Junior had been reporting to us that she hadn't been feeling well. A day or so before she died, she went into some kind of a coma. She had lost her medicines in the earthquake, and that could have been a contributing factor.
Marie was operated on by the superlative surgeon, Dr. Bryan Foy at Provena St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, Illinois. Dr. Foy has operated on a number of our Haitian Hearts' patients who have had complex heart problems. They have all done very well post-surgically.
We mourn the loss of Marie. We know that she would want us to keep on working for others in Haiti who have similar problems. We will.
Pictured above are Marie and her friend Anita
2 comments:
I first met Marie in May 2007 when I traveled to Haiti with my uncle Johnny. The ultimate goal of our trip was to bring Marie Myrtha back to the United States for heart surgery. I met her fiance, Junior, who showed Johnny and I the way through Port-au-Prince to where she lived. There, I was able to meet her family and see her "house." I videotaped Marie with her family and friends; she lived in a two room building made out of concrete. There were 11 people living in those two small rooms with Marie. Her "neighborhood" was placed in a ravine with shack upon shack (stacked almost on top of one another) up the side of a steep ravine. A few days before we arrived, one of the shacks had tumbled off the face of the ravine, crushing someone in the valley below. The day the earthquake hit, I immediately thought of Marie and her vulnerable position at the bottom of the hillside. Despite these horrible conditions, I have never met a more dignified, sweet, gentle, kind-hearted woman - the true Princess of Port-au-Prince. Thank you, Marie, for showing me the real meaning of courage - a smile in the face of adversity. I will never forget what you have taught me.
Jennifer Carroll
Thank you Jennifer, for these beautiful comments about Marie. They describe so well her living conditions and are also a wonderful tribute to her.
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