A striking message of tikkun

BASYA LAYE

No one knows why tuberculosis settles in the spines of Ethiopians more often than in other populations. What is clear is that the resulting collapse of the spinal column robs its victims, many of whom are children, of full and productive lives. Dr. Rick Hodes, medical director in Ethiopia for the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), has seen the devastating effects up close.

Originally from Long Island, N.Y., Hodes has been living and providing health care in Ethiopia for more than 20 years. He specializes in the treatment of some of the most extreme cases of cancer, heart disease and spine disease in the world, in a country where the closest medical attention can be more than 300 miles away and where there is approximately one doctor for every 30,000 people.

This month, Hodes is in the midst of a tour of several North American cities, raising funds for his work with patients at Ethiopia’s Mother Theresa Missions of Charity clinics, where he sees thousands of patients each year. He was in Vancouver last weekend to speak at Schara Tzedeck Synagogue about his work, brought here by local businessman and philanthropist Gary Segal and his wife, Nanci, who have been involved with the doctor and his work for the last few years.

The two men met during a 2007 trip Segal took to Israel and Ethiopia with Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver. Interested in developing countries since his college days, Segal made the decision to go on the mission when his son, Justin – whom he describes as a “kindred spirit” – encouraged Segal to join him on what would turn out to be a life-changing journey.

“We went on this mission and, at the time, it was the tail end of the exodus ... of the black Ethiopian Jews, the Beta Israel,” Segal recalled in an interview with the Independent. “It was a very concentrated mission and we saw what the JDC does and it was an amazing eye-opener for me. I didn’t even know what the JDC stood for before that, but to see the great work they were doing on the ground for the Jewish and non-sectarian communities.... And they do it in a very efficient, low overhead manner, largely because, on the medical side, they have Rick. I got a taste of what Rick was doing, running the sectarian and non-sectarian stuff at the Mother Theresa Mission.... Then [we] traveled with the other families to Israel and saw the absorption [of Ethiopian immigrants] there and it was just an amazing experience. But, one thing happened at the time, up north in a village, near one of the last remaining families in one of the Jewish villages; we passed by kids learning on a rock, under a tarp, under the trees, and it was something that really touched my son Justin. He said, ‘When we go back, I’d like to raise awareness and try to raise funds to build a little schoolhouse.’ In fact, we did that. He initiated something called Spread the Love Project and so largely funded the first one through my own family money and through friends and family – enough to build this little, mud-brick construction schoolhouse. Almost a year to the day later, we went back to Ethiopia because the school was ready for the official dedication.”

This second trip was a family affair, with Nanci and their older son, Adam, joining to witness the opening of the school. Segal spent more time with Hodes during that visit and also had the opportunity to meet the doctor’s growing family of five adopted children and 20 foster children.

The single father first adopted two boys who had been unable to access spinal surgeries. He then put them on his health insurance and sent them to the United States for surgery; no hospital in East Africa could adequately treat this type of spinal disease at the time. Hodes has since connected with Dr. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei, who does several of Africa’s spinal surgeries each year in Ghana.

One patient that Hodes sent to Ghana is Tesfaye, a teenager who was gravely afflicted with spinal tuberculosis and scoliosis. Fortuitously, Hodes introduced Tesfaye to Segal.

“There was this one young man, quiet, a noble quality about him, bent over, very quiet, obviously a very bad back, and I asked Rick, ‘Is he going to get surgery in Ghana?’” Segal recalled. Hodes told Segal about how the boy had been rejected for spinal surgery twice, once because the hospital was missing a respirator and once because the anesthesiologist wouldn’t agree because of the potential for dangerous complications.

“So, I hear this story, and it’s just one of those moments in life where you hear a sad story and you either say it’s a sad story and you don’t do something, or you do something. Largely because [of] being so inspired by what Rick does every day on the ground ... I said, ‘The least I can do is find help for this young man when he has no other options. I’ll try to do it.’

“I decided I would try to get it done here in Vancouver. I had a surgeon in mind, Marcel Dvorak, so I came back and worked on it, for almost a year.... I said, ‘I’ll cover all costs of the surgery, it won’t cost taxpayers a dime.’”

Describing Tesfaye’s condition, Segal said, “He couldn’t lie on his back; his breathing capacity was about 35 percent.” After the surgery in 2009, Hodes added, Tesfaye’s neck was in line with his back and he gained about a foot in height.

“I have nothing but the greatest things to say about VGH, the spine ward, all the health-care givers were just phenomenal,” said Segal. Tesfaye spent months recuperating with the Segals in their Vancouver home and Segal stressed that “none of it could have happened without the support of Nanci and my kids, to bring someone into your house like that, it’s just such a different thing to do. It really changes family dynamics, you’ve got to really be open to that.”

Last year, Hodes received 210 new spine patients at his clinic; one-third of the cases were TB, two-thirds were scoliosis. He imports cancer medications from India and does chemotherapy at Mother Theresa, the only point of access for many Ethiopians.

“There is no care available. I’m the only one. If they’re lucky, they’re going to be 300 miles away from Addis, they’ll go to some site of Mother Theresa’s Mission and they’ll say, ‘I wonder if Dr. Rick can help?’ and they’ll pick up the phone and call me and I’ll say, ‘Well, send them to see me.’ That’s the best-case scenario,” said Hodes.

The mission is one of the non-sectarian projects run by JDC and being Jewish in this environment is unusual, to say the least. “What I always say ... is that I’m Jewish, the nuns are Catholics, our patients are neither Jewish nor Catholic,” explained Hodes in an interview with the Independent.

Segal described Hodes as a “great emissary to the world of the whole Jewish concept of tikkun olam and different religions working together. I mean, you can’t have better PR on the ground than seeing an observant Jew working with the sickest of the sick and the poorest of the poor.”

Spending his life in Africa hasn’t been easy, Hodes admitted. “Nothing is easy in Ethiopia; quite frankly, it’s a difficult place to work, it’s a difficult place to get things done. On the other hand, I’m doing things nobody else is interested in doing, or maybe can do. The fact that I can cure kids of cancer without huge amounts of money or huge amounts of support, or the fact that people come to me with bad backs and I can make them straight, that’s an amazing ability. I can’t just say no to that and say, good luck.... I feel like I have to be saving as many lives as I can.”

Hodes travels several times a year to raise money for his patients, as JDC’s non-sectarian programs are funded outside the Federation annual campaign allocations. “I’m always looking around for potential donors,” he said. “I feel like, if I do my part, God will help me. It’s worked out that way.”

Hodes takes much of the attention he receives for his work in stride. Named a finalist for CNN’s Heroes program in 2007, he was also the recipient of a Rosenthal Award and a mastership from the American College of Physicians for creative practice of medicine. In 2010, he was honored as ABC’s Person of the Week, and he is also the subject of a recent documentary for HBO, Making the Crooked Straight, as well as for This is a Soul: The Mission of Rick Hodes, a book by Marilyn Berger.

Spreading the word about Hodes’ work in Africa is one thing that Segal feels he can do to help. “Seeing a guy like Rick was just so inspiring. It’s a rare person that can devote their whole life on the ground like he’s been doing since basically the mid-’80s in Ethiopia.... I wish him luck and continued strength and health to be able to keep helping all these people ... each one of these lives he’s helping is changing the world.... I’ve seen it with Tesfaye, the life-changing impact it had on him. Rick’s doing it for hundreds and thousands of [people]. He’s a hero.”

For Hodes, creating a sustainable health-care system in Ethiopia that can be responsive to the population of 87 million people, and that can take on the responsibilities of prevention on top of treatment will be key for the future. To learn more about Hodes’ work, visit rickhodes.org. More information on Tesfaye’s journey and Segal’s involvement can be found at tesfayesjourney.blogspot.com.

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