Professor tells about Haiti relief mission

Fickel went to Haiti with a group from her church in March of this year in response to the January earthquake that changed the lives of countless individuals. She served in Fond Parisien at an orphanage and field hospital called Love a Child.

Fickel, who operated a podiatry practice before joining the CSC faculty, treated a wide variety of wounds and ailments at the hospital.

Fickel illustrated the presentation with graphic descriptions and numerous pictures of the landscape and the condition of the people.

Nearly nine months after the quake, only 2 percent of the rubble has been cleared, according to Time magazine. The people are living in conditions that most Americans can hardly fathom. The hospital Fickel served consisted of scores of tents with dirt floors. At her location, 272 patients were treated.

Adults, children and babies were affected, she said. Her service included everything from taking care of a third-degree burn victim to a one-month-old baby who was only two pounds. She didn’t see any deaths while she was there, but did witness several births.

“The earthquake did not discriminate,” she said. “In this country, we have grief counselors and all that stuff. They just pick up and move on.”

One woman lost her home, church, school… everything. Dr. Fickel asked, “Where is your family?” The woman replied, “Some are alive. Some are dead.” In spite her loss, she was serving others at the hospital.

Fickel hopes to return to Haiti and take a group with her in the near future.

Fickel’s presentation Sept. 23 was the second installment of the Physical and Life Science Department’s “Science Abroad. It will continue Thursday, Oct. 7, in room 144 of the Math and Science Building at 5 p.m. when Dr. Joyce Hardy tells about her experience in Malta.

Other presenters in the series will be students Jacob Zitterkopf of Scottsbluff and Ashley Maxon of Laurel, Nov. 4; and Dr. Mathew Brust, Nov. 18.