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(Part three of a three-part story. Previously, rescuers
found six humanitarian workers feared dead in the rubble of a
Port-au-Prince hotel. Another injured mission worker made her way to
the city and was being flown to a hospital.)
A UMNS Narrative
By David Briggs*
10:00 A.M. EST April 1, 2010
Jean Arnwine (center) rides in the back of a pickup truck during her
first mission trip to Haiti. A UMNS photo by Joel Fish.
View in Photo Gallery
Late evening, Jan. 14, en route to Martinique
Clara Jean Arnwine is on an airplane to a hospital in Martinique.
She never panicked when an earthquake struck Haiti, pinning her for
hours under concrete at a rural eye clinic where she was serving as a
mission volunteer. Arnwine, whose pelvis was crushed, has been stoic
throughout her ordeal, accepting the ministrations of others without
complaint.
And she is calm now, even though it took more than two days to
transport her from rural Petit-Goâve to Port-au-Prince for a flight
out.
Dr. Gary Fish is by her side on the plane, answering her questions
about the medical procedures ahead. “What kind of surgery are they
planning on doing?” she asks Fish, who selected her for the mission
team.
Without warning, her breathing stops.
Arnwine’s sudden death is difficult to grasp. What Fish can
understand, and wants to share with the world, is a witness of grace
and courage amid suffering.
His voice cracking with a mixture of sadness and purpose, he says,
“Let them know she died a noble death.”
Morning, Jan. 15, New York
Her death is a sobering moment for The United Methodist Church.
Those following the drama of several mission workers injured in Haiti
barely have a moment to celebrate the seemingly miraculous news that
all were safe.
Only this Friday morning, Jan. 15, church members are hearing news
that six humanitarian workers—including four United Methodists—believed
dead underneath the rubble of the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince—have
been found and rescued.
“We thank God for answered prayers,” said an early press release
from the United Methodist Committee on Relief.
The Revs. Clinton Rabb, Sam Dixon and James Gulley of the relief
agency were on their way to dinner with three representatives of the
humanitarian agency IMA World Health—Sarla Chand, Rick Santos and Ann
Varghese— when the earthquake collapsed the hotel where they were
meeting. The news of their survival after being entombed for more than
two days is stunning.
Hand-lettered signs list those killed or trapped at the Hotel Montana. A
UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.
View in Photo Gallery
Gulley, Santos, Varghese and Chand, a
United Methodist , are on flights home Friday. The relief agency reports
that Dixon and Rabb were taken to a hospital.
The initial reports, received in the chaos of post-quake Haiti, are
incorrect.
Dixon and Rabb cannot be saved so easily. Underneath the Hotel
Montana in Port-au-Prince, a doctor waits beside the two men through the
night and into the day Friday as rescue workers carefully try to free
them from under a steel beam.
After nearly three days of valiant struggle, Dixon dies of cardiac
arrest. Due to difficulties communicating with people at the scene, his
death is not reported until the next day.
Hope remains alive for Rabb, who endures the added agony of lying
beside his dead friend as rescuers ultimately free him. As he lies in
the rubble, Rabb gets word to his wife that he loves her.
Suzanne Rabb says in response:
“Oh my God, oh Clint, Clint, I‘m so happy you are alive. I’m so
happy. I’m just so thankful. And I love you so much. And I’m just so
glad. I can’t wait to see you!”
Evening, Jan. 16, Deerfield Beach, Fla.
Clinton and Suzanne Rabb come together again in a Florida hospital.
Sedated and with tubes in his mouth to help him breathe, Rabb is
unable to talk. Suzanne is told her husband is probably able to hear
her.
Many homes in the Canape Vert neighborhood of Port-au-Prince were
destroyed. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.
View in Photo Gallery
Before she goes to bed, she returns to
her husband. This time, the sedation is turned down, and she gets right
next to him and close to his face.
“I love you, and I am here,” she tells him. Her husband opens his
eyes and tries to smile, but it is difficult with the apparatus in his
mouth. Tears form in his eyes.
One of their sons moves closer, and says, “It‘s me, Andrew.” And
Clinton’s eyes open again and he seems to smile.
“Yeah, we’re here, honey, and everything’s going to be fine,”
Suzanne says. “You’re going to be fine.”
The tears begin flowing down her husband’s face. He knows his family
is by his side, Suzanne believes.
She says again, “You’ll be fine, and I love you” as he drifts off to
sleep.
The next morning, Suzanne is with her husband when he stops
breathing. Emergency personnel rush her out of the room, and she prays
in the hallway. She is praying so loud someone comes and brings her in
to be with the medical workers.
“You need to let him go,” someone tells Suzanne.
But that is her husband there. She is not ready to let him go.
She continues praying, insisting, “Clint, let’s breathe. C’mon, c’mon,
you can do this. I’ll help you breathe.”
Nothing more can be done.
Continued on page two
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