By Suzanne Hodgson
Staff Writer

Pam Lee of Kennebunkport is amazed at the help her family has received from unexpected places over the last few weeks.
Lee’s family has strong ties to Haiti – Her son-in-law, Gabidson Boisrond, grew up in Haiti and came to the states a year ago to marry her daughter, Erin.
But Boisrond’s family and child are still in Haiti along with his best friend Salvent Kesnor, 25, who suffered a spinal fracture during the earthquake, which hit Jan. 12.
Four days after the earthquake, Kesnor was pulled from underneath the rubble of a store in Port-au-Prince.
Since the disaster, the family has done everything it can to bring Boisrond’s daughter home and get Kesnor to a hospital that specializes in treating spinal injuries. But Boisrond, who was in Haiti last week, returned home Tuesday empty handed.
Lee said immigration is trying to expedite the process of allowing Haitian children adopted by American citizens into the country. Because Boisrond’s daughter is not adopted she will have to wait a little longer in Haiti.
“She’s coming, its going to be a matter of days or weeks, not months,” Lee said.
Lee said little things helped save Kesnor, starting with a work badge he was wearing from his construction job that helped rescue workers identify him.
“It’s like a fairy tale. I thought there was no way to begin to help him,” Lee said.
Lee said the problems Kesnor faced to find treatment were indescribable.
Kesnor was found on a sidewalk after being pulled from the rubble in Port-au-Prince unable to move, Lee said. He was taken to one hospital in Port-au-Prince, where he was treated for a short time, but did not have the money to stay. At one point, Kesnor was carried around on a board and left in front of a hospital.
The identification badge led to a radio announcement that Boisrond’s sister heard from a Port-au-Prince suburb, Lee said.
Boisrond’s brother, James, a theology student living with his family in Blanchard, went to find Kesnor and help him get treatment at the hospital.
“They were without food and water for a number of days,” Lee said.
Meanwhile, Lee was in touch with Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree’s office in an attempt to find a place that would treat Kesnor.
Partners in Development, an Ipswich, Mass., volunteer aid program that worked with Gabidson and Erin Boisrond, has a hospital in Blanchard, so Kesnor was loaded on the back of a truck and taken there.
“PID hospital was so mobbed with extreme injuries, he laid there for days,” said Lee. “But he had water and crackers.”
Eventually, Pingree’s office was able to reach Jan Carter of Portland, who was headed to Haiti to hand out medical supplies.  Carter was charged with getting documents to officials that would allow Kesnor to be treated on the U.S.S. Comfort, a navy medical ship
“Jan Carter is a phenomenal person,” said Lee. “She spent a day in a tank trying to get to him [Kesnor].”
Lee said Kesnor was literally airlifted from the streets on Jan. 28 and taken on board the navy ship.
“I hope to someday find out who helped him, and tell them how much they mean,” Lee said.
Doctors on board operated Jan. 30 to stabilize the top two vertebrae in Kesnor’s neck. He will temporarily lose the ability to turn his neck, but Lee said he will be able to walk.
Kesnor’s adopted family in Maine hopes he’ll be brought to Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Ga., a well-known spinal chord injury rehabilitation center.
“I don’t know for sure but it looks very good,” said Lee. “My greatest hope is that it is going to happen, it’s more than a 50-50 chance.”

Staff Writer Suzanne Hodgson can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 233.