Red tape is old school. It’s 2010 doggone it.
Last Tuesday thousands of Haitian men, women, and particularly children suffered traumatic brain injuries, skull fractures, and every other type of head injury imaginable.
One problem.
After the quake – Port Au Prince had ZERO neurosurgeons. Consequently, Dr. Sanjay Gupta (there as a medical journalist for CNN) ended up performing emergency brain surgery on a 12 year old girl in the medical facilities of the USS Comfort. At least a bit frustrated, he tweeted this…
“attention: no neurosurgeons in haiti that can be found. needed, along with proper instruments. please ensure uss comfort has one as well.”
The world has thousands of neurosurgeons. I even heard that dozens and dozens had attempted to get to Haiti but were turned down time after time for misc. red tape rationale.
Many of you read his tweet. I saw it. You were shocked. I was shocked.
Except in Twitter world we don’t believe in red tape. Together (on 1-19-2010 @ 2pm EST) we decided to locate 5 willing, world class neurosurgeons and figure out a way to get them to Haiti right away. About 5,000 tweets later we found 5 great neurosurgeons ready to drop everything and take the plunge THIS WEEK. Just hours after tweeting about not having neurosurgeons in Haiti, Sanjay tweeted this:
I’d pretty much say we cut through the red tape! Twitter style :-)
Thank everybody that tweeted and everybody that made a financial donation so that we could act quickly and get these doctors on the ground in Port Au Prince, Haiti.
And a big shout out to the neurosurgeons from Portland, Chicago, Indianapolis, and Atlanta now on their way to save lives!
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Awesome Shaun. God is Good.
Great stuff, thanks for letting us be involved – however much our tweets contributed
Totally brilliant!
This is great. So many people tweeting and contributing to help Haiti. We live in a world that is connected by key strokes, 140 characters at a time. Good job everybody!
No one can ever accuse you of not having drive to get something done Shaun. You are an inspiration to myself and many others who are of a similar mind as yourself.
from monuments to movements…..
Bless you Shaun King, in Jesus's name!
Thanks Andy! Keep praying and stay tuned!
They helped bro!
2010 activism!
Indeed Valerie!
Thanks a ton Wes! Praying for you my friend!
Haha! You took it back man! I like that!
Blessings to you Heather – you are a HUGE support!
You are a force to be reckoned with-that is for sure! I am grateful for your passion and drive to get things that some would deem impossible done. You are an amazing inspiration and blessing in this world.
Now, I pray that the red tape will be cut and all of these very willing neurosurgeons will actually be able to arrive in Haiti and help those in need!
Man, you have done it again! Thanks for showing an example of true ministry.
Thank you, Shaun … I posted EVERYWHERE!
Hi Shaun,
I am a co-founder and CEO for Changents.com. Jennifer Simckowitz, who oversees our editorial and social marketing efforts, noticed your Tweets and suggested that I reach out to you directly to offer our support of your work in Haiti. I am blown away by the way you are using social media to support the the recovery efforts.
By way of background, the mission of Changents is to connect people who are changing the world with those who can help them through digital story-telling. Hundreds of Change Agents working across six continents – artists, adventurers, social entrepreneurs, inventors, musicians, first responders, athletes, engineers, activists, photographers, etc. – are using the service to tell their ongoing stories, connect with supporters around the world and rally assistance.
Like you, we feel compelled to do our part, which from the Changents perspective involves helping those on the ground in Haiti and here in the US get their stories out . Your story, particularly in the context of how you are mobilizing support through Twitter and other tools, is a powerful way to engage people around the world in the recovery efforts.
Essentially, we would like to provide you a deeper understanding of Changents; help you begin to tell your ongoing story from the front lines in Haiti and then promote the story across social networks, to influencers, bloggers, etc. as it unfolds. This represents the best way we can help and I believe would also help you document/broadcast your experiences.
We'd really like to lend this kind of support. I know how busy you are, but please let me know if you are interested in discussing. We'll be sensitive to your hectic schedule and try to streamline/pitch in the best we can.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Deron
Best,
Deron Triff
CEO & Co-Founder
Changents.com
(603) 397-0635
deron@changents.com
Skype: changents
AIM: derontriff
Twitter.com/Changents
Hey Shaun,
I heard about what your doing on twitter and it's pretty amazing. I was wondering what exactly you need regarding the Doctors flying into West Palm tonight at 1030. I am running out the door to go to school now but will check my email in the next hour. I live in Davie which is about 1.5 hours from there but I can see what I can do if you get no other offers from someone closer.
Good luck and God Bless!
Linda (joelin2172@yahoo.com)
P.S I tried to email you from yahoo and it's saying your email isn't a correct format??
Shaun,
Once again, you amaze me. You truly ARE Jesus' hands and feet!
ALL things are indeed possible!
WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO? Besides text "Haiti" to the Red Cross.
I am not a neurosurgeon. Does anyone need a 5,0 Ft 105 lb 25 year old White female who only speaks English, Spanish and Chinese? No medical experience. No combat training