Saving Jimani: Life and Death in the Haiti Earthquake

by Rene Steinhauer

The earth shakes, buildings fall, hundreds of thousands of people die in minutes. Others lie broken and infected in the streets of Haiti begging, and waiting for help. An empty orphanage is the battleground for life and death in the Haiti Earthquake. Two hours from civilization, a small team of doctors, nurses and paramedics frantically struggle to save two thousand patients as the hope of survival dwindles minute by minute. The battle has just begun. And the medical team asks, “Can we save any of these people?”

Managing the twelve-person team, Rene Steinhauer, a weary combat medic, stands witness to human suffering greater than he ever encountered in Iraq. Rene partners with Danya Swanson, a “daddy’s girl” with a nursing degree who thinks she has what it takes to save the day and suddenly finds herself as the disaster manager for Jimani. Rene dries his tears and gets up to fight in a brutal battle where amputated arms and legs are piled up until somebody, anybody, has time to drag them to the fire pit. The battle rages, hopes are raised and dashed and thousands of lives hang by a thread. Can an inexperienced nurse, with no disaster experience, really save Jimani?

Genres: Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published October 20, 2014

Reviews

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steinhauer horrifyingly recites the devastating carnage of the Haiti earthquake and of the countless victims affected. The unbelievable suffering the Haitians endured is absolutely halting, it’s shocking and will touch the reader beyond belief. The limited and unavailable supplies and resources the volunteers encountered leave you speechless. With the turn of every page, I found the carnage and obstacles unimaginable leaving me lost in sheer disbelief. A distressing read, however challenging, a story all should take note. The victims and volunteers both sacrifice in countless ways, a toll mentally, physically and emotionally for all involved. Natural disasters wreak havoc long after the catastrophic event subsides, an event lingering in the minds and hearts of those caught in its brutal hub. By far one of the most difficult memoirs I have read in quite a while. A disaster even the most seasoned of relief workers wrestled with, powerful story told from the compassionate, caring voice of Rene Steinhauer.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first thing that got my attention when I started reading this book, was that being a nurse in The Netherlands is very different than being one in the US. The education to becoming a nurse is very different, and as a nurse in the US you seem to be allowed to do much more than a nurse here in The Netherlands. I really enjoyed reading and learning about these differences. And it definitely intrigued me.

‘Saving Jimani’ is a gripping story about the devastation, sadness and hurt that followed the earthquake that shook Haiti. It’s a story about how medical volunteers from around the world were forced to watch thousands of people die because there just wasn’t enough room, supplies and people to save everyone who needed help. But it’s also about the things that medical personal can do in order to save people’s lives, even in the most desperate of times.

Rene was able to describe the sadness of those days in Jimani. And it really made me look up to him and all those other nurses, doctors and other volunteers who decided to go to that place to save lives. I’m a nurse, but I haven’t volunteered in any disaster’s and knowing myself, I wouldn’t be able to do that. I wouldn’t be able to handle the sadness and I definitely would not be able to watch all those people die because there just aren’t enough medical supplies. I’m just not strong enough! And that’s okay for me.

This book was a very interesting but also sad read. I enjoyed it but what I didn’t like was the way the story went from the present to the past, and back to the present. This just bothered me a little and I found myself losing interest when the story was back to something about the early days of Rene’s carrier. Not that it wasn’t interesting to read, but just because for me, it didn’t quite fit in the story.

This book made me proud to be a nurse, and I’m really glad that there are so many people out there who are willing to interrupt their lives just to save others. But for a book, I didn’t ‘love’ the writing as much as I wanted to.

[Nikki Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I’m mostly a fiction reader, every once in a while a nonfiction book comes around that piques my interest. I had relatives that volunteered in Haiti after the earthquake, and although they weren’t medical professionals in on the first wave, my mother-in-law is an RN and my brother-in-law had medical training. They went with a church group to help after the disaster. So when a free copy of this book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review, I decided it would be good to read more about this horrible earthquake and its aftermath from someone who was on the “front lines.”
I was not disappointed; this is a gripping true story of desperation, courage, fear, patience, and humanity at its worst and best. Rene Steinhauer’s previous experiences in disasters like Hurricane Katrina paved the way for his involvement in Haiti, although very quickly into the book the reader realizes how different this tragedy was. It was a disaster almost unparalleled in human existence. Chaos quickly became the norm until dedicated people like Rene showed up and managed to assemble the chaos into a functional, life-saving operation.

Even though the news covered Haiti extensively when it happened, it didn’t quite capture the true horror of the situation. This book does. Some parts are difficult to read while some are uplifting. The writing isn’t always perfect, but every paragraph is heartfelt and written with poignant honesty.

If you want to learn more about the disaster in Haiti, the courage and torment of the victims, and the selfless heroism of the men and women who sacrificed so much to help the people there, pick up this book.

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review
www.worldofnikki.com/explore

[Joke Smissaert · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book leaves me with mixed feelings. Having lived in Jimani myself for a few years (prior to the earthquake), I was wondering how this story would be told. And even if it was interesting to read the experiences on how the author ended up becoming one of the lead figures in this rescue program, and how - despite the conditions - he did his utmost to help after one of the most devastating natural disasters in our lifetime, the book also carries many statements that are beyond cringe worthy.

I wonder why a book about a disaster that hit a big part of Haiti and millions of Haitians suddenly becomes a story about Americans saving them. Where are the stories of the Haitians- the real heroes in my opinion? The author states several times that the situation in Jimani was beyond any doubt the worst place of all. I wonder on what data he bases this assumption - since none of these were explained in the book.

Also - what value a person like Danya is adding to the book is unknown to me, other than maybe the editor believed it would be cute to add a little love story to it? The fact the author calls one of her decisions 'heroic', almost made me barf. In Europe we call it being 'professional'.

Having met Mark Pinard several times in person, it brought back nice memories seeing his name in print. The fact he apparently died 30 days later of a heart attack left me more sad than I thought it would. RIP.