Acts of kindness
February 12, 2008
Giving free eye care to dozens of patients who badly needed it was
only part of what made Pamela Schultz's one-week trip to Cambodia in
December an unforgettable experience.
The more rewarding part, Schultz says, was teaching medical
professionals in Cambodia the techniques she uses as an ophthalmic
surgical nurse at Rush University Medical Center.
Schultz was with an international team of eye specialists who screened
patients and performed surgeries aboard the "Flying Eye Hospital," a
DC-10 that doubles as an operating room. The plane is operated by
ORBIS International, which targets blindness in developing countries.
Cambodia has the worst blindness rate in Southeast Asia. Schultz has
also been to Bangladesh and Jamaica with ORBIS.
Being able to show doctors and nurses in other countries what she's
learned in her 40-plus years as a nurse was "an amazing thing," she
says.
"Nurses don't make a lot of money, but I have a lot of knowledge to
share. To share with people so vitally interested in learning new
things, you think you're giving them a million dollars."
