Erica Hoenke worked as a nurse for three weeks in Port au Prince.
MARQUETTE -- After three weeks of treating the walking wounded in Haiti, a Marquette native says the need is so great, she hopes to return in the future.
Twenty-four-year-old Erica Hoenke decided to go to Haiti almost immediately after hearing about the destruction. She e-mailed different organizations and was able to travel with a group from the University of Miami.
Hoenke was also part of a group that rescued a man from the rubble more than four weeks after the earthquake on January 12.
"It was really hard to leave not knowing the progress of the patients and not being there to help in their recovery, and knowing that there were so many patients that weren't in our unit that needed help still," said Hoenke. "We drove by the tent cities a couple of times, which is where a lot of the earthquake victims that lost their homes are set up, and it was just heartbreaking to see all these people living in makeshift tents made out of scrap metal and cardboard boxes and knowing that a lot of the people inside had wounds and injuries. It was really difficult to leave all that behind and know that there are still so many people that are suffering and that need help."
The E.R. nurse currently works in Detroit. She says she plans to go back to Haiti as soon as she can.
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