Medical-supply drive nets 'huge' outpouring for Haiti

NORFOLK

Hundreds of wheelchairs, walkers, crutches and prosthetic limbs lay in piles on the pavement outside Old Dominion University's Webb University Center on Saturday afternoon.

Soon they'll be on their way to Haiti to help people injured in the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that ravaged the Caribbean country Jan. 12. The Norfolk-based nonprofit Physicians for Peace collected the mobility supplies for the thousands of people who it anticipates will need help getting around because of amputations and injuries caused by the earthquake and its aftershocks, said volunteer Gail Grisetti, an associate physical therapy professor at ODU.

Because Physicians for Peace already has programs established in Haiti, "we're in a great position to be able to make a difference," she said. The organization works in developing countries to provide medical care and education. Their mobility program is called Walking Free.

The supply drive started at 1 p.m. By 3:30 p.m., people had donated at least 50 wheelchairs, 100 walkers, 100 sets of crutches, a dozen portable commodes and shower chairs, and 50 canes, said Kenneth Hudson, manager of in-kind gifts for Physicians for Peace.

"I would've never thought that we would get that much stuff," he said, standing on the back of a truck stocked full with donated supplies. "It's huge."

Kelly Andrews of Norfolk gave a prosthetic leg and foot, a gel liner and some crutches. She lost her left leg below the knee eight years ago after a car crash.

Without insurance, a prosthetic leg can cost more than $20,000, she said.

"Prosthetics are so hard to come by in Third World countries," Andrews said. "It's the least I can do."

Next, Physicians for Peace will inventory the supplies, pack them in a 40-foot container and ship them to their partners in Haiti.

Physical therapists will then distribute the supplies and train patients on how to use them, said Mary Kwasniewski, senior director of global health programs for the organization.

Because prosthetic limbs must be custom fitted, those donated Saturday will be used for parts, Grisetti said.

But none of that can happen until Haiti's clinics and prosthetics centers are ready to receive the shipment, which may take some time, Kwasniewski said.

Water and other emergency supplies need to get there first, she said.

The equipment will make a huge difference to injured Haitians, Kwasniew-ski said.

"The impact is indescribable," she said. "You're allowing somebody to return to a somewhat functional life where they'll be able to be mobile again."

Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com