Local doctor returns from Haiti to share stories from the front
One family's destroyed hopes that their son's education would provide a way out of poverty particularly struck home for Dr. Mildred Olivier, who last month traveled from Arlington Heights to Haiti to spend a week helping earthquake relief efforts.
During her rounds, she met a young man who suffered two ruptured optic nerves as result of the catastrophe which rocked the island nation. His parents had pooled their scarce money to pay for his education, hoping it would grant him opportunities they never possessed.
"They put all their resources in this person to go to school and college, and now he is blind," said Olivier, a Haitian-American ophthalmologist, who said there was nothing she could do for the man.
Olivier stressed the importance of educational opportunities Americans take for granted when she spoke with students on Thursday at St. James School in Arlington Heights. They deluged her with questions about her trip. Friday was the month anniversary of the quake, and she asked students to remember the tragedy and continue to send donations in the coming months. The students pledged money they receive from their parents for hourly chores.
From Jan. 22 to 29, Olivier helped oversee about 300 volunteers, saying that her administrative skills were often more important than her medical talents. She had to translate and ensure patients had the proper specialist giving them care.
Olivier, who regularly visits Haiti to deliver care. guessed it would take 17 years to bring the country back to pre-earthquake standards.
"This was like night and day," Olivier said comparing her previous trips. "Usually when I got there, I'm used to my little infrastructure issues, but this was a disaster."
At times, she would visit other volunteer groups and plead for supplies, even soup for her staff to eat. There was a strong international contingent, with volunteers from China, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel and Korea. She dealt with massive crowds of patients and their families and friends waiting for care. She spent most of her time at Community Hospital in Petionville, which lies southwest of the nation's capital of Port au Prince.
Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights donated medical equipment for the Haitian victims. FedEx donated about $100,000 in shipping services to send that gear, which included lasers and hospital beds, to the Dominican Republic. That equipment never made it to Haiti, as customs agents in the Dominican Republic seized the shipments, Olivier said.
"I cannot figure out why," she said.
She hopes to work with U.S. officials, such as Sen. Dick Durbin and Rep. Mark Kirk to release the shipments.
Olivier wants to return, but remains concerned about travel, including the difficulty of getting flights and cars and the potential for carjacking.
"It depends how desperate people get," she said.
She appreciates how the global medical community has rallied to help and hopes people don't lose interest.
"It really won't ever go way," she said. "I challenge them not to forget about Haiti."