St. Charles doctor gives back in Honduras
Dr. Greg Spitz keeps plenty busy with vein surgeries in his offices at St. Charles' Valley Ambulatory Surgery Center and Aurora's Rush-Copley.
But he's not likely to do 37 in just three days, as he did recently as part of "Operation Giving Back" in the poor village of Choluteca, Honduras.
Spitz said he learned of the volunteer opportunity through a surgeons' association and "tried to put together a relief team to do it. But the current economy made it tough, because you had to pay your own way."
But he said the Honduran doctors encouraged him to come on his own with the promise of help from local volunteers, "so I got a plane ticket, packed my supplies and went."
Spitz worked mostly on patients with large leg veins and ankle ulcers. It was not, he said, cosmetic surgery.
"This was in a very poor city of about 100,000 people, and they had been hit hard by Hurricane Mitch, which just made things worse," he said. "There was a need for this kind of medical care."
Spitz plans to return early next year and asks anyone interested in the project to contact his office at (630) 820-2727.
It's a whiteout: Why are the bricks of Urban Grille building in Geneva turning white? You may have seen this on other buildings, but it seems to really stick out on this State Street structure.
Architects and builders refer to it as efflorescence, the buildup of a powdery, salty substance due to water evaporation. At least that's the simple definition.
Special diners: Making sure senior citizens who can't always fend for themselves and can benefit from inexpensive options for dinner has been a noble cause of the Salvation Army for decades.
It was nice to hear that the Fox Valley Newcomers group, which chooses a different charity each year to support, has picked the Salvation Army Golden Diners program for this year.
Timely advice: Maureen O'Brien of Batavia likely couldn't have picked a better time to share her knowledge.
She recently conducted a workshop on job interviewing for Aurora University students. O'Brien, an author and internationally known speaker on sales and leadership, touched on topics students have to get a handle on quickly - dressing for success, handshake techniques, what to say and how to say it.
The president and CEO of O'Brien and Son Inc., an exterior remodeling company, has also published "Get Your Big Girl Pants On and Sell Something," about her experiences selling Alcoa building products to contractors.
Dressing for weather? Young people are more anxious for warmer weather than us older folks. Spotted in the neighborhood: kids with shorts and flip-flops on, waiting for the school bus. The temperature at the time? Maybe 35, tops.
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