Dr. Luke Channer of Hamilton looks over some of the thousands of dollars of medical supplies that local pharmacies and the hospital donated after word got out that he would spend this week working in a hospital in Haiti. PERRY BACKUS - Ravalli Republic

And so he must not have been surprised when his mother turned her eyes into his and smiled.

“Luke,” Jessie said. “You need to go to Haiti.”

On the very next day, Channer received an e-mail from a nurse he had met in 1993 while serving a month-long stint in Haiti as a medical student. She told him the hospital at Les-Cayes - located about 100 miles west of Port-au-Prince where the earthquake killed thousands - was about to lose its surgeon.

The American physician had been working non-stop since the earthquake struck almost a month ago and he needed to return to his practice back in the states.

“She told me he was desperate,” Channer said. “They weren’t sure what they were going to do.”

The 50-bed hospital had more than 80 severely wounded patients.

Channer sat down with his wife and two teenage sons and told them he was needed. They smiled and said “go.”

He went to work and asked his staff. He knew that if he left, his staff would miss days of work. They smiled and said, “That’s a great idea.”

His nurse, Liz Stewart, later gave the hospital’s marketing director, Amy James-Linton the news.

“She told me: ‘Can you believe he’s going there for all of us?’” James-Linton said. “There are so many of us who want to go and help. He’s going there for us.”

Last Monday, the word got out around the Bitterroot that Channer and his mother would volunteer for a week in Haiti. Before the day was done, the donations began to arrive.

Local pharmacies, Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital and private donors came to Channer’s office with thousands of dollars of medicines, dressings, medical instruments, and money to help ease the suffering in that island country.

“It’s amazing, almost overwhelming that all of this has come together in such a short period of time,” Jessie said Friday as she worked with Channer’s wife, Jennifer, to sort and pack the supplies for this upcoming trip. “My head is still spinning.

Jennifer said the response from the community has been humbling.

“It really affirms your faith in people to know how truly good they are when it comes to helping people in need,” Jennifer said. “They just step up and do what really needs to be done.”

Channer and his mother flew out of Missoula Sunday with plans on arriving in the Bahamas that same day. From there, a volunteer pilot working with a Methodist relief organization will fly them into the town where the hospital is located on Monday.

Channer expects they’ll start working that same day.

“I expect there will be some long days,” he said. “It would typically take at least five hours just to see all the patients. I imagine we’ll be working to at least 8 or 10 every night.”

The antibiotics and other medications the pair will bring could well save lives.

“We have a huge number of doses of antibiotics,” Channer said. “That generosity will be appreciated. These people have nothing. They have to endure surgeries without anesthesia. They are tough and have endured so much.”

Having been there before, once as a medical student and again as surgical resident, Channer knows what to expect.

“I know what I’m getting into,” he said. “It might take time for someone who hasn’t been there to adapt. Everything there is so much different.”

Personal hygiene isn’t the same. The smell inside the hospital could be overwhelming for some. The roadways are horrible. And the medical facilities are primitive compared to those in this country.

But that’s not all.

“There’s also no paperwork, no legal issues, no money for payment,” Channer said. “When you eliminate all of that other stuff, then you are there strictly to take care of people. That’s what many of us went into medicine for in the first place.”

Channer said many people in the community sacrificed to make this happen. His staff will take time off from work because he’s not there. Local businesses and private individuals dug deep into the pocketbook to help with donations. His family will miss him.

“The community’s response has just been overwhelming for me,” he said. “My heart was just breaking when I watched the news coming from Haiti. I always wanted to go back, but there were just too many excuses on why I couldn’t.

“God was knocking on my door this time and I had to answer it,” Channer said. “God definitely had a hand. He was definitely working for me. You just don’t go to a place like Haiti in such a short period of time. Everything fell in place.”

Channer hopes this trip to Haiti won’t be his last.

“I’m hoping that this can become a yearly thing,” he said. “The need there will never go away. I know there are people here who definitely would like to go with me. There are others who want to help if given the chance.”

Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital volunteer Linda Brewer stuck her head around the door and smiled at Jessie and Jennifer Channer busily packing up supplies Friday.

“You know something,” Brewer said. “Your son, your husband - for a lot of people around here - he walks on water.”

Editor Perry Backus can be reached at 363-3300 or editor@ravallirepublic.com.

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Grandma Puppy wrote on Feb 8, 2010 7:04 PM:

" Wow, my husband and I are miles away on holiday. I found this heart warming article via the internet. Safe travels to you Dr. Channer, your skills will now travel to Haiti. What a gift this is. You were my Dr. awhile ago and I can say anyone who is lucky enough to revieve your care will be truley blessed. "

Abbie Hoffman wrote on Feb 8, 2010 6:22 PM:

" If Dr. Channer can leave his family and business to go to Haiti and work in unimaginable conditions because it's the right thing to do, we can do something too.

The Bitterroot should show our support to our surgeon and donate to the hospital that he is working at. If we do one thing well, it's to help others. Let's keep this act of goodwill going far past his time there. "

dbarj wrote on Feb 8, 2010 2:22 PM:

" Dr. Channer, thank you! i met Dr. Channer when my mother-in-law had cancer, i could not ask for a more careing, compassion dr. This just shows how truely careing Dr. Channer is! God Bless you, prayers for safety. "

Thankful wrote on Feb 8, 2010 1:58 PM:

" You will never find a more kind and genuine individual. This valley is so lucky to have Dr. Channer and his family, as members of our community. They are all truely a blessing in many ways. I could tell you dozens of wonderful things about he and his family, but just be proud of the fact that he represents us as Montana and as the Bitteroot Valley. I worked for him for 10 years, so I speak from experience when I say, be proud of him and acknowledge the fact that we have been blessed as a community to have such a caring and compassionionate medical provider, right here taking care of us. It takes truely unique individuals to do what he and Jessie are doing, the blessings that they give, will be received by them as well. This is what is asked of them and they answered the call. Hopefully this is an example to all of us, of how things were intended to be. "

GratefulPatient wrote on Feb 8, 2010 11:36 AM:

" Thank you Dr. Channer! As a grateful patient I know how much you truly care about people. I have had a lot of physicians in my life but you are the best because of this caring attitude. I'm so in awe of your selfless generosity. God speed! "

MDMH employee wrote on Feb 8, 2010 8:00 AM:

" Dr. Channer, his family, and staff are great examples of why we live in such a great community. It takes a truly selfless person to go and do that work. "

Well Wisher wrote on Feb 7, 2010 9:43 PM:

" My prayers are with you. You both are doing a wonderful thing! May God keep you safe. "

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