Puerto Rican Minnesotans head to the island to help in Hurricane Fiona's aftermath
MINNEAPOLIS – Puerto Ricans in the Twin Cities are stepping up to help people on the island get through the devastation of Hurricane Fiona.
Several of Dr. Miguel Fiol's cousins are without water and electricity in Puerto Rico right now, like most of the island right now. Fiol is a neurologist and professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
"It's really sad for my country to suffer so much because the people, you know, are so good," Fiol said. "It's very hard, and one more thing after so much we go through."
Fiol's home is filled with Puerto Rican flags, books and documents. He says anxiety about the hurricane has made it difficult to sleep.
"I'm from Ponce, like Ponce de Leon, in the south and that's where the hurricane went in," Fiol said. "One-hundred-mile-per-hour winds and the water. Devastation."
He leaves for Puerto Rico Tuesday morning. A team of U of M doctors and nurses will join Fiol, where they'll give much-needed medical care for two weeks.
"These people came so far to be with us, and there's nothing more valuable than that, no matter how much medicine you give," Fiol said. "Just the sense that you care makes a lot of difference for people."
Maria Isa Perez-Hedges calls Fiol a mentor. She's an advisor with El Fondo Boricua, a Minnesota fund that's raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Puerto Rico since 2017. That's when the deadly Category 5 Maria tore through. Much of the island still hasn't recovered from that storm.
"I hope that it's a wakeup call for us here to help those Puerto Ricans who want to stay, who want to redevelop a Puerto Rico for Puerto Ricans," said Perez-Hedges.
If you'd like to help with emergency relief efforts in Puerto Rico, more information can be found here.
You can also support Dr. Fiol's medical mission here.