By KAREN GOULART
FISHING EXPEDITION
HINGHAM
Just moments earlier, Dr. Lori Lerner was cracking jokes with the service members gathered for Hingham’s fourth annual veterans’ fishing trip. But as she watched them head for the boats that whisk them off for a few hours of fun and relaxation on Hingham Harbor on Tuesday, tears ran from her eyes.
In her seven years as a surgeon with the VA Boston Health Care System, she has seen scores of veterans with an array of injuries.
She wonders what their lives are like outside hospital walls, these men and women who have seen and felt the worst life has to offer and say they’d do it all again.
So Lerner “jumped” at the chance to spend social time with them.
“We see patients when they come in with health problems, to be able to step out of that environment … it’s so valuable,” Lerner said. “This makes it worthwhile. I don’t know how you can care for a patient and not try to gain some appreciation for what their life is like. … To see something like this, you kind of see what you’re taking care of them for.”
The event, organized by Hingham Veterans Agent Michael Cunningham, included a breakfast provided by Carpenters Local 424, lunch from South Shore Baptist Church and a ceremony during which the veterans received citations and words of thanks. Local boat owners, the Lincoln Maritime Center, harbormasters from Hull, Weymouth and Quincy and the Coast Guard helped out on the water.
“This is a great occasion to show our brave service people gratitude for placing themselves in harm’s way on our behalf,” said Selectmen Chairman John Riley. “It’s only a small token, but it’s something they enjoy and we enjoy doing it for them.”
First Lt. Melinda Nekervis, of Sterling, was glad to be in Hingham on Tuesday. Nekervis spent 18 months at Al Asad Air Base in northern Iraq, where she was a flight and ICU nurse with the 399th Combat Support Hospital.
Nekervis tore a rotator cuff lifting an injured soldier. Part of the Wounded Warrior Project, a nonprofit support program for service members, she was encouraged to participate in the event.
“It’s just a good opportunity to talk to fellow soldiers about our experiences and go out and have a fun day,” Nekervis said. “This is just one day I don’t have to worry about going to any doctor appointments.”
Karen Goulart is at [email protected].
Originally published by By KAREN GOULART, The Patriot Ledger.
(c) 2008 Patriot Ledger, The; Quincy, Mass.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
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