vim - Marion General Hospital

‘God Bless You All’
When young Bedonia Michel returns home to Haiti after
Marion General Hospital surgeons saved her foot, what will
she miss most “I will miss the hospital and the doctors and
nurses because they did everything for me,” she says. The
feeling is mutual. In the 10 days Bedonia was at MGH following
REACHING OUT FOR ANOTHER MIRACLE
Once the diagnosis was made for the foot to be amputated,
her father, a hospital administrator in Haiti, sent out an
urgent e-mail to his friends asking if anyone could help save
Bedonia’s foot.
Shawn T. Swan, M.D., former chief of staff at Marion
General Hospital, was scheduled to go to Haiti on a mission
trip sponsored by Brookhaven Wesleyan Church in Marion.
The trip in January 2010 was a planned response to the
devastating earthquake that struck the country and left much
of the capital and surrounding region in ruin. Dr. Swan casually
asked Daniel J. Edwards, M.D., a local orthopedic surgeon,
if he would like to be a part of the team. The 24-year surgeon
had never been to Haiti before. His answer was yes.
So when Bedonia’s Haitian surgeons suggested amputation
in August 2010, Dr. Edwards agreed to do a second opinion
and subsequent salvage surgery at no cost. “In many ways,
Bedonia personified Haiti,” Dr. Edwards says. “She had such
a positive outlook on life despite her problems. I felt I was
blessed to take care of her rather than the other way around.”
TWO HURDLES REMAINED
Bedonia needed another medical visa to fly to Indiana and
receive the surgery, something that normally takes months to
obtain. Thanks to the involvement of friends, she received a
visa in just two weeks.
The final hurdle to save Bedonia’s foot was again the family’s
inability to pay. This time, Marion General Hospital
answered the call. Paul L. Usher, president and CEO,
explained to Dr. Swan that, based on her family’s income,
Bedonia would qualify for free care under MGH’s Patient
Assistance Program, and that MGH would be proud to
provide her care.
Bedonia and her mother, Estella, were on their way to
Indiana. Dr. Edwards completed the surgery at Marion
General Hospital.
“My part in Bedonia’s care was very small,” says
Dr. Edwards, who is quick to play down his role in the successful
surgery. “Like it was once said, I dress the wound,
but God heals. Also, without the generosity of many others,
including Marion General Hospital, none of it would have
been possible.”
surgery, the pediatric nurses fell in love with her. Spend just
a few minutes with the girl and you would know why. Her
smile and sincere appreciation for everything literally lights
up a room and warms the heart. Her final words to those
who helped her were, “Thank you and God bless you all.”
A MOTHER’S FAITH
AND REMARKABLE
COURAGE
Can you imagine leaving your native country
for the very first time and boarding a plane,
having never flown before Would you be
brave enough to fly to a foreign country, where everyone
speaks a language you don’t understand, and put
your trust in the sincerity and generosity of others
Estella Michel did just that when she took her
daughter, Bedonia, from Haiti to the U.S. for footsaving
surgery. She faced those challenges without
fear because of her trust and faith in God. “For myself,
what God does is marvelous,” she says. “It’s God who
gave me confidence in people I don’t know.”
Vim & Vigor · SPRING 2011 51