Nurse Gabriela McAdoo: He will always be my little "Haiti Angel."

On Jan. 13, a day after a 7.0 earthquake occurred in Haiti, I got an e-mail from Patrice Callagy, RN, assistant nurse manager at Stanford Hospital and Clinics, asking for volunteers to help in Haiti. I was one of many nurse volunteers to reply and was on site the day after. I volunteered with International Medical Corps. In Haiti, I was asked to team up with Dr. Matthew Howell to help in the initial set-up of triage and emergency area.

There I met Monley.

Monley survived eight days under the rubble from the Haiti earthquake.

Monley's uncle had found the 5-year-old boy after eight days under rubble and brought him to the hospital. I was Monley's primary nurse. Dr. Colleen Buono was his primary doctor from University Califon a head-to-toe-assessment, we did not find any obvious fractures or signs or symptoms of internal injuries. We resuscitated him with fluids, and four hours later he was transferred in stable condition to the Swiss Red Cross pediatric unit for overnight observation. We were amazed by his recovery and happy to see this little miracle walk away with no major trauma. The next day, we learned he had been discharged.

As I was triaging that afternoon, I felt a little tap on my shoulder. I turned my head and there was Monley. I was so happy to see him well. He came to see me every day at the hospital. I never thought I would have bonded with Monley the way I did. It was automatic; and although we could not communicate by the normal means of language, we understood one another. His eyes told it all! During the end of my assignment, we had a psychiatrist from International Medical Corps meet with Monley and me so I could tell him goodbye and make sure he would not feel abandoned. Our farewell was heart wrenching because Monley had come to see me as a "mother figure." His mother had been killed in the earthquake.

Monley and I were interviewed by CNN's Anderson Cooper during the "Help For Haiti Now Tele-a-Thon" and were featured on NBC Nightly News "Making a Difference." Our farewell is an experience I will forever remember. I love and miss Monley and still stay in contact with his family through text messaging. He will always be my little "Haiti Angel."


CNN's Anderson Cooper interviews Monley and me during the telethon.

Follow Interntional Medical Corps