Inspiration: A Hero in Haiti
Yesterday, I read a New York Times article entitled Haiti Hospital’s Fight Against TB Falls to One Man. It was about a man in Haiti named Pierre-Louis Monfort who is heroically keeping his medical clinic running amidst the chaos from the recent earthquake disaster. He is running the clinic alone because all of the hospital’s 50 other nurses and 20 doctors died in the earthquake or have refused to return to work out of fear for the building’s safety or preoccupation with their own problems. Monfort’s official position was a staff nurse before the earthquake hit.
Despite having to live on the streets with his wife and three children after their home was destroyed by the earthquake, Monfort continues to work tirelessly to help others. Read the end of the article to hear his answer to a patient’s question of “Why don’t you just leave us to die?”
It’s really amazing to me when I hear about people who are willing to sacrifice so much to help others in need. It’s hard to imagine how tough the choices Monfort must make really are. He has a family that is now homeless and plenty of his own problems to deal with, yet he chooses to put in 14 hours of unpaid work everyday trying to save dying TB patients. In the midst of chaos and devastating odds, heroes continue to put their best foot forward to do the right thing. To me, Pierre-Louis Monfort is a hero.
Photo by Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times)
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Hero? He certainly is.
He is also an ordinary person, which I find even more extraordinary. I’d hope that if I were ever put into such a situation, I could be as strong and caring as he is.
Yeah, I think the ordinary person (a staff nurse) aspect is the most powerful part. Though usually to a lesser degree, we all face these decisions everyday. It shows in what we choose to do.