John Doe (or Jonny D as he became known) was here when I got here. No one knew upon receiving him what his name was or how old he was. They just knew that he needed help. He was brought to the attention of the Comfort medical team members by a local orphanage. Jonny had been dropped at their door only a few days earlier but post earthquake. He was clearly malnourished, wasn't speaking in a meaningful way, and clearly had some sort of growth or abnormality of the eye.
When the wonderful Creole speaking Red Cross volunteer translators tried to get out of him what his name was he spoke only one word and that was the Creole word for shit. Therefore he was known from then on as John Doe. Turns out Jonny has a rare skin condition that causes him to be unable to tolerate being in the sun. The growth/ abnormality of the eye was actually cancer of the eye. The eye was removed and the skin over it was reconstructed. The dental folks that came to see if they could determine his age said they thought based on his teeth he was about 10 even though when he was being dressed he was being put into a toddler 3 sized clothing! His behavior was primitive at best giving strong evidence that he had been fending for himself or had been abandoned. Slowly but surely as he bonded with staff he made enormous strides. He was initially refusing to eat and then learned he liked hot dogs very much. He would refuse to be touched or handled and eventually didn't want to be put down. We were unable to redirect his behavior and soon found that with a lot of patience and coaching he could be redirected. As he became more medically stable we were able to have two respresentatives from the orphanage come out to see him and evaluate him. The staff's concern was that since the earthquake had created so many more orphans the orphanages would be too overwhelmed to be able to take on Jonny given the one to one attention he is clearly going to need. With much trepidation and our best wishes Jonny D was released to his knew home. Many of the Red Cross volunteers who themselves have relatives in Haiti will check in on him now and again. As well as some of the staff here. One can only hope Jonny D is headed to a better life filled with love, compassion and the companionship he so desperately needs and craves...
When the wonderful Creole speaking Red Cross volunteer translators tried to get out of him what his name was he spoke only one word and that was the Creole word for shit. Therefore he was known from then on as John Doe. Turns out Jonny has a rare skin condition that causes him to be unable to tolerate being in the sun. The growth/ abnormality of the eye was actually cancer of the eye. The eye was removed and the skin over it was reconstructed. The dental folks that came to see if they could determine his age said they thought based on his teeth he was about 10 even though when he was being dressed he was being put into a toddler 3 sized clothing! His behavior was primitive at best giving strong evidence that he had been fending for himself or had been abandoned. Slowly but surely as he bonded with staff he made enormous strides. He was initially refusing to eat and then learned he liked hot dogs very much. He would refuse to be touched or handled and eventually didn't want to be put down. We were unable to redirect his behavior and soon found that with a lot of patience and coaching he could be redirected. As he became more medically stable we were able to have two respresentatives from the orphanage come out to see him and evaluate him. The staff's concern was that since the earthquake had created so many more orphans the orphanages would be too overwhelmed to be able to take on Jonny given the one to one attention he is clearly going to need. With much trepidation and our best wishes Jonny D was released to his knew home. Many of the Red Cross volunteers who themselves have relatives in Haiti will check in on him now and again. As well as some of the staff here. One can only hope Jonny D is headed to a better life filled with love, compassion and the companionship he so desperately needs and craves...
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