Chiropractors Get Involved with Haiti Relief Mission

Chiropractor Peter Morgan had just left Haiti after completing a chiropractic mission there when the devastating earthquake struck.

"We just had a calling to go back," said Morgan, a chiropractor on East Boston Post Road for 25 years and founder of Mission-Chiropractic.

Morgan, 55, got together nine chiropractors and returned to the destroyed country on Jan. 20 to give out water and rice and offer chiropractic adjustments to the injured. They also brought five water filtration systems donated by Connecticut-based KX Technologies.

The group stayed with a New Rochelle cabdriver, one of Morgan's patients whose family home was spared, and were shocked when they arrived in Pétionville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince.

"There was one house, (then) five houses in rubble, one house, five houses in rubble," Morgan said.

With carloads of supplies, Morgan and the other chiropractors visited a partially collapsed ambulance company that was still trying to operate even as some workers lay dead under rubble.

Morgan adjusted ambulance workers who had back and shoulder pain from lifting debris and patients, and left them with a water filtration system.

They also came upon a makeshift hospital, where doctors were performing amputations and stitching without any drugs.

Minnesota chiropractic student Stephan Moje, who was part of Morgan's group, said that everywhere they went the stench of death was nearly unbearable.

"The most shocking thing for me was the smell," he said. "You needed to cover your mouth with a hankerchief, and you had Tiger balm to put under your nose."

Heather Rooks, a chiropractor from Wilmington, Del., said she could feel people's desperation as they handed out 400 pounds of rice and more than 500 gallons of water to hundreds of people.

She recalled riding in the car and being approached by two brothers. When one saw she had food, his mouth started to quiver with disbelief.

"The little kids came walking up and said, 'We're hungry. We're hungry,' and all I had was an apple," she said. "His face was like I had a block of gold. We gave it to them and said, 'Make sure you share.' The big brother gave it to the little brother, and he took a bite."

Morgan said he was struck by people's graciousness. They joined Haitians in singing hymns and were brought to tears.

"As we were about to leave, they put us in a circle and prayed for us," Morgan said. "It was one of the most touching things that happened in my life."

Morgan is working on getting support from other chiropractors to continue to send help.

"The people were thanking us, and the thing they were saying most of the time was, 'Don't forget us. Please come back. Please help us,' " he recalled.