I met Wisler and Deneen two summers ago. Deneen enrolled Wisler in the Cumberland Valley Youth Rugby Association’s summer league run by my husband, Jay. I helped coach Wisler’s team, the Panthers, which also included two of my children. He quickly stole our family’s heart. Wisler was full of life, fast as a bullet, and always … win or lose … wore a smile. His joy was infectious. I still remember Deneen standing on the practice field explaining his unrelenting happiness, “Remember, where he came from, he didn’t even know what a ball was. He had no toys. He literally had nothing. So to be able to play and run just makes him smile.”

When I received the urgent email this week from Deneen, I wanted to do everything I could to help Wisler keep smiling. Here’s what she wrote:

Nell - You first met my son, Wisler (age 9, adopted from BRESMA Sept 2007) when he started playing rugby 2 years ago with your children. Who could have imagined the joy of my son when he saw his best friend, Jimmy from Haiti arrive home safely on January 19, 2010 with Ali McMutrie and our extended Haitian family from the BRESMA orphanages.

I have seen first hand what the children in Haiti face. It was heartbreaking before and now words can't describe the sadness and desperation facing these children. There is however, one more future Pennsylvanian still in Haiti. His name is Mesi. He is my son's 27 month old brother who we are frantically searching to find in Pele Cite Soliel, Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. (They are the poorest of Haiti's poor.)

Wisler's little brother Mesi

You already know the amazing Jamie McMutrie Heckman and Ali McMutrie and their work but let me tell a little more about these women. I went to Haiti five times during the adoption process - each and every time Jamie and Ali would bring Wisler to meet me at the airport all cleaned up and with a haircut. They arranged for me to spend the day with my son's birth family - translating so we could get to know each other, driving me to various offices to complete Wisler's adoption paperwork, taking us shopping and sharing meals together in Haiti. They worked with me to bring Wisler home in September 2007. Never once did Jamie and Ali ask for anything for themselves - only for their children.

It doesn't stop there. Wisler's birth mother was pregnant and due any day as Wisler and I left for the United States in September 2007. Jamie and Ali maintained contact with Wisler's birth family and shared the news with us when Mesi was born. We received frequent pictures of Mesi each time Wisler’s birth mother and grandmother would come to BRESMA for updates about Wisler. When Mesi got sick Jamie and Ali took him in and nursed him back to health. Eventually Mesi was returned to his mother as it should be. But that was then and this is now. We don't know if Wisler's family and little brother survived the earthquake. Even if they did I am not sure how long little Mesi, who only weighs 16 pounds, and his family can hold on.

I have been working around the clock to find Mesi, reaching out to anyone who might be able to help. We must find them. My son is worried. I am just sick. At this point I see no future for Mesi in Haiti. Please, help me find my "other" son lost in Haiti and help unite Wisler with his little brother! I am begging you to help. I am shedding tears now - won't you help? One day soon we can shed tears of joy together when Mesi is safely home with Wisler and me.

Wisler's little brother Mesi would be 27 months old. They live in Pele, Cite Soliel - a slum of Port Au Prince. Mother's name Betty Dyon, Father Rickelme Medor, Grandmother Yoldie Dessaline, Grandfather Emmanuel Dyon.”

Deneen is waiting to get a cell-phone number for Wisler’s birth mother from the McMutrie sisters but cell-phone service in Haiti is spotty and Deneen does not speak Creole. She could send a text message but it must be written in Creole. Even then, Wisler's family is illiterate so they will need help translating the message. Two of our guests last week, Dr. John Judson of Camp Hill, and Joseph Simon, owner of Caribbean Food and Wings in Lebanon, speak Creole and plan to visit Haiti when possible. I have reached out to them to help Deneen in her quest for information about and assistance to Mesi and his family and both have graciously agreed to do what they can.

Deneen said the McMutrie sisters "naturally were overwhelmed" with arranging the rescue and care of the children in the orphanage and did not know the status of all the birth families in Haiti. I asked Deneen what she thinks of the flak Governor Ed Rendell and other officials are taking for mounting the rescue mission. “A little child is going to die. You want to do something about it? You have to step up. I am thrilled they did it,” Deneen argued. In December, Wisler was being treated at the Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital after suffering a facial fracture from an accident at school. During his stay, he met Pennsylvania First Lady Marjorie Rendell. Deneen said she has written to Judge Rendell asking for her help in finding out about Mesi and his family.

“I sent her pictures we took at the Med Center of her and Wisler, and also a photo of us with the Haitian Ambassador Raymond Joseph. We got our picture taken with him on Haitian Mother’s Day. They had a concert for us at the embassy. We try to do those things to keep in touch with our Haitian culture. We were planning to celebrate Wisler’s tenth birthday in July and reunite with his brother in Haiti. But now, I think I will just go with my family (sister Patricia McCormick and brother-in-law Paul Critchlow.) We will work to rebuild,” Deneen told me.

Until the earthquake struck, she had not planned on adopting Mesi. “I’m 43 years old, a single parent. I just didn’t think it was right,” she explained. However, in the wake of the massive destruction and seemingly endless despair, she has had a change of heart. “I can’t let my little son’s brother perish. There’s no future in Haiti. He’s not going to thrive. So I will do it,” she vowed.

If you are able to offer Deneen McCormick any assistance in locating her extended family, please contact her directly at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Also, this Saturday at Olympic Skating Center in Enola, Deneen has organized a fundraiser for BRESMA. All of the proceeds will go to rebuilding and meeting the needs of the orphanage. For a $5 donation, you can skate from 10-Noon with the "Haitian Sensation and the Olympic Speed Team" and do some good for Haitian children at their most dire hour of need.