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A Mother Who Cares
For Children at Home and Abroad

Jennifer McNulty got the call on January 22. The Glen Ellyn mother of three is a pediatrician who serves as the assistant medical director of the pediatric emergency department at Edward Hospital in Naperville. She had told friends at Children's Memorial Hospital that she would be willing to go to Haiti to help with emergency medical care for victims of the earthquake. When Heartland Alliance contacted her to be part of a medical team, they told her the group was leaving in two days on January 24. Jennifer had less than 48 hours to arrange to leave her job, her home and her family.

Heartland Alliance is a relief agency which deals with child safety issues including stopping child trafficking. The agency usually does not get involved in medical missions but there was a need after the earthquake. Jennifer and the medical team flew into the Dominican Republic and drove into Haiti. "It was stressful for me to see people at the border with machine guns," she says. But once they arrived at their makeshift clinic in an open soccer field, McNulty was able to focus on her medical mission. "We saw children from morning until night. We saw some adults too. There were a lot of fractures, dislocated shoulders, skin wounds and infections. There were several babies with tetanus," says Jennifer. She saw about 300 patients a day and heard many heartbreaking stories of loss from the earthquake victims.

After two weeks, Jennifer returned home to her husband and family. Her work colleagues had covered all of her shifts. Her neighbors had dropped off meals and arranged for play dates for her children during her absence. "My husband heard we were running out of medical supplies in Haiti so he got on the phone and raised $20,000 and arranged a relief flight into Port Au Prince," she says. "It is amazing what he was able to do in such short time. We live in such a generous community."

"My children did so well while I was gone," says Jennifer. This is her second mission trip. She was 20 weeks pregnant when she went on her first relief trip to help after Hurricane Katrina. "Going to help others like this is thrilling professionally. The biggest negative is having to leave my children. But my children really understand charitable giving now. My son told me that 'I know the kids really needed you in Haiti because I really need you too.' They want to give to help others now. I am so proud of them."-Judy Buchenot

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