ORLANDO, Fla. – The majority of Puerto Rico is still without power nearly a month after Hurricane Maria. A team of doctors just returned home after a week helping those in need.
"It was intensely emotional," said Dr. Carla Haack, a general surgeon.
"It means the world," said Dr. Ricardo Vasquez-Duarte, a physiatrist.
"We saw everything from elderly who had fallen with fractures to people who had bronchitis or pneumonia," said Dr. Gretchen San Miguel of Florida Hospital. "People have been there up to 15 days without being contacted by any medical relief or support team. The clinics they usually would go to were shut down because of water damage or lack of supplies."
The team flew down with the help of high-profile attorney John Morgan, carrying 2,000 pounds of supplies with them to help those in remote areas of the island.
Each one of these doctors was on a mission to help a place they call home.
"I don't think I can describe the agony of not hearing if my family was alive or dead," said Haack, whose entire family still lives in Puerto Rico.
Haack was lucky enough to see her family for a moment when she wasn't helping get things back to normal for an island devastated.
"I left my heart there with my grandma and my parents," she said.
More than just helping those who need it, Vasquez has a smile on his face for what he was able to do for his mother-in-law, who had to evacuate.
"It was so quick, the way she needed to leave," he said. "She couldn't bring the dog with her."
He brought back her service dog, Whisky, who had been staying with neighbors after the hurricane.
"It's what helps her deal with her depression and anxiety, so to me, it's going to be, oh my gosh, I don't know how I'm going to feel," he said.