Pol Light Moment #5 is a story that crosses the miles from Haiti to New York City. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is a United States Senator from New York. She helped a cancer patient from Haiti secure a humanitarian visa to come to her state in the United States in 2011 for life saving medical treatment.
Ollenare Desrosiers is a schoolteacher from Haiti and the mother of two children. In 2011 she needed radiation treatment to help assure that her breast cancer was eliminated. According to the New York Daily Post, "Desrosiers was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer and had a full mastectomy in Haiti, but doctors told her without radiation treatment, the cancer was likely to spread (Source)."
The one facility in Haiti that provided this was destroyed in the 2010 earthquake that hit Haiti and was not available in 2011. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was able to secure a humanitarian visa for Ollenare Desrosiers to come to New York for the needed treatment.
Ollenare Desrosiers spent a year in New York City receiving medical treatment. After the year of treatments her cancer was determined to be in remission. In February, 2012, Ollenare Desrosiers was able to return to her homeland of Haiti (Source).
For more information on this story read these articles on the situation by the New York Daily News.
- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Helps Haiti Cancer Patient Get Proper Treatment in New York City
- Home to Haiti After Life Saving Cancer Treatment in New York
Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.
Photo: The photo of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is the official photo of a US Government official and is in public domain (Source).
