Newsclip and interview...

Utah Hospital Tasks Force back home...Gaylinn on the news.....Click on the link

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Gaylinn is home!!!!!

Volunteers return from Haiti
February 12th, 2010 @ 7:54am
By Shara Park
SALT LAKE CITY -- A group of Utah volunteers has returned home from a two-week relief mission to Haiti. The Utah Hospital Task Force landed in Salt Lake City shortly before 7 a.m. Friday.

Excited family and friends had patiently waited to greet the doctors and nurses. Diana Bringhurst said, "My husband is an emergency room doctor at the Utah Valley emergency room. He served his mission in Haiti. We're excited he's had that opportunity to return to Haiti and help some people there."

She said he calls every night. "He sounds really happy and has been enjoying his time there," she told KSL.

Their daughter Jennifer said, "It's been kind of sad to have him not here because he usually likes to take us on daddy-daughter dates and takes us to lunch."

Another daughter, Shannon, said, "I'm really happy he's able to go help the people. I'm sad he's gone but it's good when he calls us with the stories of how he gets to help the people. He was even able to bring them toys, which made them happy."

The group is made up of more than 100 volunteers. They include doctors, nurses, translators and engineers

Stuck...

Ok so things have definatly changed in Haiti. I heard today that Gaylinn and the other members of the Utah Hospital Task Force are stuck and there return date is in the air. Of course being the big sis, I told her to get to Santo Domingo and I would put her on a pass through Jetblue and get her home.

I'll post more when I hear.....

Even though the last two weeks have been challenging there have been many rewards! Gaylinn will be home on Thursday. I'm sure she will have a lot of stories to share....

Another day in Haiti

The following is from an article "A Day in the Life of an LDS Team in Haiti":

A poignant reminder of suffering is the refugee forest just beyond the hospital, where patients have congregated who have been released and have no place to go.

Gaylinn Breeze, a shock and trauma nurse, said, “I know one gentleman, Johnny, who lives on an island far from here, and with his right leg amputated, can’t get there to be with his family. When he was discharged, he went to the forest and he hopes that he can be readmitted because it is his only hope for a bed.”

Sixteen-year-old, Jerry, is another one who hangs out in the forest. Since the quake, he is missing half his foot, but Dr. Mark Rogers, of our team went out to visit him and saw that he would either lose his leg or his life if two more inches were not taken off. He was able to get Jerry admitted to the hospital and save him.

We asked, “How can you smile and laugh when you cannot see a future?”

He answered, “We’re Haitians. We suffer. It is what we do. If we don’t laugh and smile, it makes it worse.”

The full article and more pictures can be found on: http://www.ldsmag.com/

Day 3 in Haiti...

Gaylinn is doing well. She has the benefit of being escorted around by the 82nd Army airbourne paratroopers. She has been given the title of DON (Director of Nursing) in a triage unit.

Additional updates and pictures can be found on: http://utahhospitaltaskforce.blogspot.com/

Day 1 in Haiti...

The morning started off with a little miracle when 66 orphans were allowed to leave the country. Gaylinn was upset with all of the bodies that were still not buried and some bodies were being burned with gasoline. The highlight of the day was helping deliver a baby. When she left she did not know where they would be sleeping but today the worked out a deal and they are staying with military. She will have access to a toilet and a shower which was another thing she planned on doing without. This is the same military group that they brought pizza's to from Florida...now that is delivery service!