A Child's Story - Jordani of Haiti
POSTED ON Feb 26, 2010 / UPDATED ON Jan 27, 2011
Jordani lays timid on a COTN clinic bed after just arriving from Good Samaritan Hospital more than a month ago.
After dressing up like the doctors who were treating him—complete with face mask and gloves—Jordani falls asleep in his bed at COTN's medical clinic in Barahona.
As COTN medical team doctors and nurses treat a fellow patient behind him, Jordani goofs off for the camera at COTN's clinic in Barahona.
Jordani ran ahead of his dad in the street as they walked toward their house. They had been out most of the day and he was excited to get home. Besides, his dad was walking too slowly anyway—the energetic 6-year-old wanted to run! He looked back at his dad and smiled. Benjamin looked ahead at his son and smiled back, shouting something that made the boy laugh.
Reaching their house, Jordani jiggled the doorknob to let himself in. As he opened the door, Jordani felt it begin to shake in his hands—but it wasn’t just the door, it was the whole house. It was the ground he was standing on. It was his entire body. Everything was moving. From behind him, he could hear his dad’s voice shouting to him—his name over and over again. Before Jordani could turn around to look, the house began to fall apart. The cascading cinderblocks of the closest wall came tumbling down on top of Jordani, trapping him.
Jordani’s father, Benjamin, couldn't see anything through the dust around what used to be his home. He called out the boy’s name and there was no answer. “I thought that Jordani was dead,” Benjamin said. But then he heard it—the crying of his tender-hearted son. Jordani heard his father’s voice telling him it was going to be okay. The blocks were lifted and he was safe, but the pain continued in his leg and his back.
Though Benjamin still did not know where his wife and other son were, he rushed Jordani to the closest hospital he knew of. There was destruction everywhere. So many buildings were gone. Though the two made it to the hospital, no one was there. It was only minutes after the earthquake and no one had even ventured back into the building to begin to help those who were injured. Trudging back to their crumbled home, Benjamin found a neighbor who was a nurse who cleaned Jordani’s wound in his leg.
Back together, the family of four sat in front of their destroyed home, unsure of what to do next. Thankfully, no one was hurt besides Jordani. Benjamin knew that his son needed attention soon. In the street, some American doctors walked by handing out food. They told Benjamin to wait there and that they would give him and Jordani a ride to the hospital in Jimani in a few hours. Benjamin couldn’t pass up the opportunity for his son. Leaving his wife and other son in Haiti, Benjamin went with Jordani to Good Samaritan Hospital in Jimani, Dominican Republic.
Though Jordani received care there, his pain was still great and so was his infection. His situation was such that, about a week and a half later, Children of the Nations (COTN) medical team leader Dr. Vicki Sakata identified Jordani as one of the children to come to COTN’s clinic in Barahona for better care. Benjamin agreed to go. “I was considering going back to Haiti because they didn’t have good care in Jimani,” Benjamin said. “But when Dr. Vicki offered to bring the Jordani here, I was happy.”
Jordani has changed a lot since he arrived in Barahona on a US military helicopter more than a month ago. Though timid, shy and sad when he got to COTN’s clinic, his real personality has come out, showing a boy who loves soccer, wearing sunglasses, singing into a pretend microphone and making people laugh. He is healing well and now working with physical therapists as his foot and leg continue to get better. With COTN's help, Jordani and his father will be able to return to the rest of their family and begin again.
To contribute to Jordani's long-term care, please partner with COTN in Haiti.