Anne Marie Colby is a Chicago nurse who spent a week volunteering with CURE International in Haiti. While there, she kept a daily journal.  One of the most touching things she wrote about was the special relationship she formed with a Haitian patient named Daniel.

We’d like to share some excerpts from Anne Marie’s journal:

January 21 (Anne Marie’s first day in Haiti)

I have been up for the last 42 hours and could probably stay up more if needed. The only thing that really hurts is my feet. I still feel the adrenaline all throughout my body. There is so much that needs to be done. I feel guilty going to bed and closing my eyes for a couple of hours.

We are sleeping on the roof of the hospital in a tent with other women from our team. As I look up at the sky and the stars, all I can think is…Where am I?? I hear the sounds all around me. I hear the people outside in tents, sounds of pain, crying, singing, dogs barking, roosters crowing and people talking.

I was brought on this trip as a nurse to work in the OR, but ended up working in the ICU, which is where I would rather be. It is funny how things work themselves out.

In regard to food, I ate rice, beans and water (that was at 7 p.m.) with no lunch, no breaks, one bathroom visit. It was okay.  I did not complain; in fact, I barely noticed because there was no time, and my body was not hungry. To tell you the truth, I can’t even keep track of the time, because it is going so fast. It is non-stop…people coming and going.

There are relief workers here from all around the world (Korea, Sweden, New York, etc.). Most of the patients have some sort of trauma, crush injuries, amputations, gangrene, infection. There is a mixture of adults and children.

The language barrier is not that bad.  The Haitians speak both French and Creole, and we have some Haitian translators. Some people have families, and others are now orphans.

January 23 (The day Anne Marie first met Daniel)

Daniel, a 10-year-old boy, was playing outside his home when the 7.0 earthquake rumbled beneath the earth. He started running toward his house and tripped on an opening of the disheveled ground and broke his leg.

It just seems unfair that a young boy has to endure two surgeries with metal rods (external fixators) sticking out of his left leg. But, I guess nothing about this is fair. He will not smile and barely talks.  He just lies in his bed, watching others around him. I was overwhelmed with compassion for him,and I am starting to work on his heart.

January 24

I tried to give a [Pop-Tart] to Daniel, and he told me that it was too sweet (he is used to eating rice and beans). I just laughed. Today, Daniel actually smiled and laughed too. There is something about this boy that I am drawn to—he needs love and smiles and someone who cares about him. With all the children here, God picked this young boy for me to interact with.

January 25

It’s 2:30 a.m. and I can’t keep my days straight. I believe today was our fifth day, which has just flown by.

Daniel calls me over to his bed and pats the mattress, because he wants me to sit down and talk with him. He speaks in French, and I speak English. When there is a translator in the room, we can understand each other; but if not, we just hang out. I wish I could just sit there for at least 10 minutes, but there is no time; and I am off to my next task. Daniel had to go back to the OR today to get some more work done on his leg.  He just looked up at me when they started to take him away and tears started flowing down his cheeks. I walked with them carrying him on the stretcher to the OR and held his hand.

I went into the OR to make sure our CURE team was taking good care of him—I wouldn’t expect anything else.

January 27 (Anne Marie’s last day in Haiti)

As I sit on the airplane going back to the States, I am sad. I woke up this morning and started crying before I even reached Daniel’s room. I was not sure how he would react.

What would he say or do? I am an emotional person to begin with, and I wear my heart on my sleeve and care deeply about people. I walked into the ICU, and he was sleeping. I sat next to him and held his hand while he slept. I think the most amazing feeling was when after about 15 minutes he woke up!!

His facial expression was priceless. He opened his big eyes and mouth. It was the happiest I have ever seen him, and he grabbed my arms and neck to give me a big hug. I broke down…I could not hold back the tears. He wanted me to sit on his bed, so I did and we just sat together, him wanting to hold my hand.

I was so happy that the bus was late picking us up because that allowed me to spend more time just being with him. I  found his mother in the hallway. I had a translator tell her I was leaving today. She looked sad and told the translator that I was her angel who came here to take care of her son. She would never forget me and thanked me.

Next was Daniel. I was dreading this, but I had to tell him I was leaving. The translator, his mother and I walked into the ICU, and I could just tell on Daniel’s face that he knew something was wrong. I couldn’t hold back the tears anymore.  I was crying and told the translator to tell him that I was leaving to go home. He burst out crying and put his head into the pillow…He couldn’t stop. I said some more things to the translator and gave him a hug (now both of us crying).

One of the CURE team members came running in the room and told me the bus was here. I said goodbye and looked one last time into his deep dark eyes.

I hope he will not be sad, but continue to grow up and be a nice young boy. I pray that I would be able to keep in contact with him and his family. This boy will forever be in my heart. I sit here on the plane, crying while I write this last entry.

Everything happens for a reason. I was brought to Haiti for a specific purpose, and I believe it was fulfilled. However, I feel like I need to go back and help these people who forever captured my heart.

Anne Marie has kept in touch with Daniel’s family since she’s been back and reports his recovery is going well.

She plans to return to Haiti next month on another CURE team.  She’ll be joined by Tiffany Cupp, who also served on Anne Marie’s team in Haiti.

You might recall we previously posted a link to Tiffany’s blog about her time in Haiti.  You can also watch a video of her talking about her experiences in Haiti here.