Mother, daughter lend a helping hand

North Woodmere resident Eden Preis, a Hewlett High School senior, returned from a January trip she said she will cherish forever. Eden and her mother, Mickie, an otologist at Maimonides Medical Center in Manhattan, went to the Philippine province of Ifugao, and, working with Advancing Native Missions, a charity organization, helped fit 580 people with eyeglasses and assisted with medical procedures.

An otologist treats medical issues related to ears, such as hearing and balance.

Ifugao is a 10-hour bus ride from Manila. Mickie inspired Eden to raise money for this year’s trip with stories about a visit she made last year. “I was so amazed that she went, and thought it was really cool,” Eden said. “I asked her, ‘Can I join you?’ My mother’s friend, who went on the mission with her, came to dinner one night, and to hear them share their experiences was so exciting to me.”
Eden used the money she earns as a tutor and babysitter to pay for the trip.

Then, using an online fundraising webpage, she raised the money for the eyeglasses. She exceeded her original goal of 250 pairs, collecting enough money to purchase 580.

Alona Sulman, a Preis family friend, said she was very impressed with Eden’s determination. “I heard about her plans to go to the Philippines, and was amazed,” Sulman said. “That she was able to raise the money to go, and then actually being able to make the trip, is remarkable. She did wonderful things over there.”

There were some challenges. “One main problem I had was that I didn’t speak the language,” Eden said. “Luckily, there were translators, but if one wasn’t nearby it was difficult. I used gestures to communicate with them. Another was that there was no running water. We had to bring two buses of supplies to make sure we had everything we needed to assist them.” The remote villages of Ifugao receives medical attention only once a year, she said.

Preis said that the people were so thankful to get the glasses. “They all said, ‘God bless you,’” she said. “My first patient I fitted for glasses was a 91-year-old man who said, ‘I can see!’ It was so touching.”

Eden also watched her mother perform medical procedures, and even helped with some, including removing a butterfly-shaped thyroid tumor from a man. “It’s an amazing feeling to get to help,” she said. “At 17 I got to intubate a person and remove a tumor. Who else can say that?”

Eden’s father, Noga, said he has always seen life-saving qualities in his daughter. “She was at a pool party when she was 9, and there were lots of children playing,” he recounted. “One of the toddlers went into the pool and nobody noticed he’d gone in it. Eden noticed, and jumped right in to save him. She was born an adult. She’s very mature.”

She will most likely make another trip to the Philippines. Her recent trip, she said, is counting toward an internship requirement for her high school diploma. She would like to attend medical school and become an ophthalmologist.
“I’m so privileged, so blessed,” she said. “I got to do the surgeries and see a whole new country. How many people can say that? All the energy I’m putting forth now in school will be so worth it.”

More eyeglasses are being purchased through Preis’s fundraising efforts. Her new goal is $800. To help, visit her gofundme page at https://www.gofundme.com/edensyp.