Earthquake Victim Gets Special CT Treatment
By AMANDA RAUS
Updated 4:34 PM EST, Mon, Feb 22, 2010
Ralph-Marie Gedeon, 22, lost his leg in the Haiti earthquake and is a little closer to walking once again after being carried off the airplane.
The Haitian native spent two days trapped under the rubble in the devastating earthquake that hit the country last month as his father desperately tried to set him free.
“His father, day one, started digging for him and couldn’t quite get to him, so came back day two with a few of his friends and literally, with no special tools but his hands, dug him out of this rubble field and transported him to what’s left of this hospital,” Dr. David Gibson, of the Center for Orthopedics in New Haven, said.
But Gedeon was severely injured. His leg, which was crushed by the debris, had to be amputated, but Gedeon would’ve rather died before giving up his leg, so Ayal Lindeman, the man from Scientology Volunteer Ministers who helped nurse Gedeon back to health, made the young man a promise.
“He calls me and says, ‘Can you help me with this scenario. If I tell this kid, he’s got my friend of 30 years to take care of him and he’s going to get a leg, a stateside leg, he’ll have the amputation, will you do it?’ What do you say to that? You say thank you for the blessing to be able to help with that,” Gibson said.
Now Gedeon will be under the care of Gibson, an orthopedic surgeon who hopes to give Gedeon a prosthetic leg and the ability to walk once again.
All of his services, the prosthesis and the hospital stay at the Hospital of Saint Raphael will all be free of cost, as was the ambulance ride from the airport.
“The opportunity to do something like this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience; it’s a blessing to be able to do,” said Dr. Gibson.
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