Within 48 hours, Dr. Eison was in Germany, helping more than 300 Afghan refugees on board a flight to the United States. Each one had fled Afghanistan, waiting days at the airport for a flight out. Dr. Eison was the sole physician during the flight, and he and a volunteer nurse treated many passengers for dehydration, stomach issues, headaches, chest pain and other ailments. More than a quarter of the passengers were children; one 5-yearold needed immediate assistance upon landing. Americares placed six medical professionals on other similar flights.
When he looked at the hundreds of evacuees, Dr. Eison saw anxiety for the future on many faces and realized he was witnessing the tumultuous beginning of new lives in the United States. Many of the patients he serves at the Americares Free Clinic in Norwalk share a similar story.
“I found a connection with these families heading to the U.S. from their country,” says Dr. Eison. “They were totally lost and hoping to be found.”
Americares vets and trains emergency response professionals who can be available during emergencies. Dr. Eison is one of 750 medical and emergency response experts from 52 countries on Americares global roster; six roster members were deployed on flights similar to Dr. Eison’s. Dina Valenti, director of the Boehringer Ingelheim Americares Free Clinic of Danbury, was also deployed this year to help with a shortage of staff at a tribal clinic in Oklahoma.
Whether he is in the clinic or on a plane full of refugees, Dr. Eison helps provide an essential medical safety net for people who need it most. “I have skills that I’ve acquired over the years, and if I can use them in any way, at any time, anywhere, it’s my duty. It’s not even a duty; duty implies it’s something I have to do. It’s what I want to do,” says Dr. Eison. As for his experience on the rescue flight, “If they called me tonight, I’d go again.”