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Wounded Haitians seek care in Dominican hospitals

Wounded Haitians seek care in Dominican hospitals
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An injured person on a stretcher arriving from Haiti is taken to a hospital in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. (AP Photo/Adriano Rosario)

It's 10-year-old Galdenia's first time out of her country Haiti. But her trip to Santo Domingo is no vacation.

Galdenia's mother, Nela Pierre Jean-Phillip, says her daughter was walking home from school in Port-au-Prince with three friends when the earthquake struck. She was injured by falling debris and was trapped for more than 12 hours before a relative found her.

"She didn't die, so I know God was protecting her," says Jean-Phillip.

Galdenia and her mother managed to get a ride to the Haitian-Dominican border. From there, Dominican officials transported her the Dario Contreras Hospital in Santo Domingo where she will soon get surgery. Her face is severely swollen and doctors say she suffered a cranial fracture.

It's hard for Galdenia to speak and she says her head hurts, but otherwise she's okay. She's just one of a number of Haitian earthquake victims now seeking care at the Dominican hospital.

Hospital director Dr. Hector Quezada says medical care for these Haiti earthquake victims is covered because that's the mandate he received from the Dominican government.

And there are more than just Haitian patients here in this Santo Domingo hospital, there are also Haitian residents. They crowd the hospital hallways, watching waiting and hoping their fellow Haitians will make it through.

WATCH GALDENIA'S STORY BELOW

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