Dr. Vasil Pasechnik's Visit 
to the United States  
August 6-20

The Tour

The Press

Other 

Dr. Vasil Pasechnik was invited by LifeNets to come visit the United States from August 6-20, 1999. On this trip he visited Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Medical College of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Curative Rehabilitation Center in Milwaukee, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee and the Howard A. Rusk Rehabilitation Center in Columbia, Missouri.  In addition, he was hosted on visits by the Eli Lilly Corporation in Indianapolis, First Lady Judy O'Bannon of Indiana, Paul Ratcliffe of Central Missouri Sheltered Enterprises and many other stops in between. 

Special thanks goes to first to Maurice Frohn, director of the International Chernobyl Children's Trust in the United Kingdom. He has worked intimately with Dr. Pasechnik to help rehabilitate  children not only medically, but socially and vocationally. Maurice Frohn was also coming to visit with Dr. Pasechnik, but he was injured in an automobile accident shortly before the trip and was not able to come. The International Chernobyl Children's Trust paid for part of Dr. Pasechnik's trip expenses.

Thanks also to Michael Snyder, vice-President of Caldwell VanRiper/MARC for untold hours of helping arrange for visits and meetings from Minnesota to Memphis.  He also graciously hosted Dr. P, as we affectionately know him, at the Columbia Club in Indianapolis. 

Thanks to Dr. John Merrit of Milwaukee, Wisconsin for arranging Dr. P. to visit and speak to doctors and medical staff at both Rochester's Mayo Clinic and the Medical College of Wisconsin.  He also arranged the visit to the Howard A. Rusk Rehabilitation Center in Columbia, Missouri.  Dr. Merrit also hosted a large gathering of friends to meet Dr. Pasechnik at his home outside Milwaukee.

Thanks to Teddi Treybig for helping open doors to visit and to successfully speak to medical staff at the world renowned St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis along with visiting together in Columbia, Missouri.

My thanks goes to many many others who participated in making this trip and the subsequent aid necessary to help substantively help the plight of children whose lives will be improved by the help given them. 

This trip brought greater awareness to the American public about the on-going effects of the Chernobyl disaster that continues to plague yet a another generation in a part of the world that has to struggle to cope with the effects.