Dr. Stephen James of Resurgens Orthopaedics Coordinates With Fellow Resurgens Physician Dr. Douglas Lundy, Already Operating at Albert Schweitzer Hopital in Deschapelles, to Bring What is Needed Most

All good pilots will tell you that you never land with a tail-wind, always a head-wind, so you have additional stopping power at your disposal. That's especially true when the runway you're looking at is at most half the size of what is required for the large plane you're flying. But that's what Resurgens Orthopaedics physician Dr. Stephen James, a licensed pilot, confronted when trying to land at the Cap Haitian airport in Haiti to deliver severely needed medical trauma supplies.

He was told to approach from over the water, because if he went over Port-au-Prince, he'd run the very high risk of getting shot down. An ammunition factory collapsed during the earthquake, and prisoners from a nearby collapsed prison, gang members, and looters had seized the opportunity to stock up on new weapons and cause disturbances.

Dr. James, who sees patients at the Resurgens office in Cumming (1100 Northside Forsyth Drive, Suite 340; 770-886-8111), was asked late Thursday afternoon, January 21, if he could fly a plane full of supplies, anesthesiologists, and missionaries to Haiti. He quickly accepted, and communicated with fellow Resurgens physician Dr. Douglas Lundy - who was already in Haiti performing operations and providing basic medical care at Albert Schweitzer Hopital - to determine what supplies were needed most.

Early the next morning, via only word of mouth, approximately $500,000 worth of much needed supplies started pouring in from spine companies, trauma companies, and more. This generosity and support was not lost on Dr. James.

"I was simply amazed at how everybody in the community came together so quickly and selflessly," he said.

Four hours later, he and his crew filled the plane to capacity and took off. They knew instantly when they had arrived.

"We flew over Port-au-Prince at 10,000 feet, and even at that height, you could smell the stench of death," said Dr. James. "It was quite a shock and set the tone for what we were flying into."

After landing safely, and using every inch of the runway doing so, Dr. James and his passengers were struck by what they saw - plane after plane taxiing to drop off supplies; a constant stream of Russian, Canadian, American, and other country's planes there to help the Haitians. Locals were stationed there to take the aid into the city where it would be distributed.

Dr. James dropped off the supplies and anesthesiologists and then headed to Jacmel on the other end of the island to drop off the missionaries. There they witnessed more extraordinary humanitarian action by the Canadian Air Force and U.N. forces, as they moved supplies with ease using Blackhawk helicopters.

From there, Dr. James headed back. He brought with him a pastor, the pastor's wife, and the pilot of another plane that had crash-landed at the Jacmel airport. After a quick stop in the Bahamas to refuel, Dr. James dropped his passengers in Florida late Saturday night then headed back to Atlanta to complete what may have been the craziest, yet most meaningful, three days of his life.

Resurgens Orthopaedics, Georgia's largest orthopaedic practice, has 20 offices and six surgery centers throughout metro Atlanta. With 90 physicians, Resurgens provides specialized expertise and broad experience in the areas of sports medicine, joint replacement, neck and back surgery, foot and ankle surgery, non-operative spine care, general orthopaedics, hand surgery, arthroscopic surgery, epidural steroid injection, and trauma care. Resurgens provides comprehensive musculoskeletal care in a single location, from injury diagnosis and treatment to rehabilitation services. Learn more at www.resurgens.com.