TMC PULSE

t m c » p u l s e | d e c 2 0 1 7 /ja n 2 0 1 8 19 O n Wednesday, Sept. 20, Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico. With sustained winds of 155 mph, the Category 4 storm uprooted trees, razed homes and caused widespread, cata- strophic flooding, leaving millions without electricity, water or cell phone service. Ricardo Flores, M.D., clinical director of the Cancer and Hematology Centers at Texas Children's Hospital The Woodlands, was at work when the storm hit his homeland. Flores had a busy clinical schedule that day and was trying not to worry incessantly about his family and friends back home. That proved impossible. Just across the interstate at Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital, neurointerventional radiologist Mario Polo, M.D., Flores' med- ical-school-buddy-turned-lifelong-friend who had just relocated from Puerto Rico in March, was also deep in his workday. Polo tried to stay informed about the hurricane through news apps and social media, and he and Flores updated each other throughout the day via text. Once the island's power grid crashed, both doctors were inundated with frantic calls from their loved ones who were waiting out the storm and could no longer watch the news. "They were calling us and asking for an update because it looked so bad outside," Flores said. "The way that they kept describing it was like a tornado that doesn't go away. The sound was awful and everything was breaking." A few hours later, communi- cation went dark. Flores couldn't reach his mother for 10 days and Polo was worried sick about his 94-year-old grandmother, who was recovering from a hip fracture. Her nursing home had closed in anticipation of the storm, and his only solace was knowing that his uncle, a gastroenterologist, had taken her in. "That was heart-wrenching," Polo said. "Just knowing that they were without electricity, without water, without communication—and with a 94-year-old who needed 24-hour medical care." Texting Carlos Correa and Carlos Beltrán As the media continued to deliver news of the devastation, Flores and Polo felt restless; they wanted to help. The doctors reached out to other Puerto Rican professionals living in Houston and together created the group Texas United for Puerto Rico. The group immediately started collecting relief supplies. "The response we had from the community was incredible," Flores said. "I texted Carlos Beltrán from the Astros. And Carlos Correa. [Beltrán] texted me back saying, 'Yeah, we need to do something. I just donated a million dollars for support. I'll let you know more.'" Beltrán—who has since retired from Major League Baseball—and Correa were in the midst of the most exciting season in Astros history when Hurricane Maria hit. Both had family back in Puerto Rico and, like Polo and Flores, could not afford to lose focus on their work as they awaited word from loved ones. But they wanted to help in any way they could. So when the supply drive exceeded expectations—Texas United for Puerto Rico amassed nearly 2,500 pounds of donations in just two days—Flores texted Beltrán and Correa again and asked: Can you get us a plane? "We were naïve; we didn't know the hurdles we were going to be facing," Flores said. "But we realized right away that the main roadblock would be getting the supplies to Puerto Rico. People were amazing—the support we got. But getting it from here to there is a logistical nightmare." Beltrán and Correa contacted Astros owner Jim Crane, who agreed to donate the Astros plane for two missions. By Monday, Sept. 25, less than a week after Hurricane Maria hit, the group had sent thousands of pounds of goods to San Juan. Since then, Texas United for Puerto Rico has sent another 12 planes loaded with medica- tions, generators, solar-powered lights, water filters, food and other items. Flores and Polo are in a unique position because of their personal ties back home, which has proven beneficial in identifying what, exactly, the island needs the most. Physicians from all over Texas have collected medical supplies in different specialties based on the specific needs voiced by the hospitals in Puerto Rico. UTMB-Galveston donated more than $10,000 in neurosurgical equipment. Carlos Correa's family dug into their own savings to make numerous shopping trips to H-E-B for bulk food items. In addition to the Astros' plane, flights were arranged by private donors, including Waste Management Inc. and Ross Perot Jr.'s Hillwood Airways. A supply run on Oct. 5 was made possible by United Airlines, taking Flores, Polo and members of Houston City Council on a Boeing 777-300 so they could personally deliver 55,000 pounds of food, humanitarian relief and generators. More than 200 seats on the plane remained empty to accommodate the extra cargo weight. When the plane arrived on the island, Flores and Polo personally distributed the pallets to delivery trucks to ensure they reached their intended destinations. "I still don't know how we did it—60 pallets with one forklift in 360 minutes. It was literally one pallet every six minutes," Flores recalled. "We were able to do it, but it was crazy." (continued) Houston Astros teammates and fellow Puerto Ricans Carlos Beltrán and Carlos Correa at Minute Maid Park on Oct. 13, 2017. The two have been involved in relief efforts for Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Credit: photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

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