Haitian doctor takes 100 patients into his home
Pediatrician Claude Surena helping quake victims with nowhere else to go
updated 9:30 a.m. PT, Sun., Jan. 17, 2010
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - It wasn't long after Tuesday's earthquake leveled nearly all of the houses next to Claude Surena's that neighbors started showing up at his doorstep.
For years, the 59-year old pediatrician had treated the sick at his two-story hillside home near the center of the Haitian capital.
Suddenly, he was running a triage center, treating more than 100 victims on his shaded, leafy patio with food and supplies salvaged from ruined homes.
His undamaged house provides at least a minimum level of comfort away from the devastation — even for the dying — while thousands of others in the city lie in the dirt under a merciless sun waiting for attention from a handful of doctors.
"I have to thank whoever brought me," said Steve Julien, who says the last thing he remembers before he blacked out was rescue workers calling his name as they dug through the rubble of his house.
When he woke up, he was lying on a mattress inside Surena's soothing oasis.
"It was a blessing from God my house is safe," he said. "We at least have been able to do something for everyone."
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34907124/ns/world_news-haiti_earthquake