Victoria Weiss came with her husband and two sons to volunteer at the Medical Recovery Week in New Orleans.

Jeremy Weiss, 13, works the auto-refractor in the vision tent at the Medical Recovery Week in New Orleans.

NEW ORLEANS, La. - Sitting in a partially heated tent in freezing temperatures and surrounded by armed National Guard is how Justin, 11, and Jeremy, 13, chose to spend their time off from school.

The brothers traveled to New Orleans from Charlottesville, Va., with their parents to attend the "The 2nd Annual Greater New Orleans Medical Recovery Week" in New Orleans East.

The week-long medical event offered free health care to local residents facing an uphill battle since Hurricane Katrina hit more than a year and a half ago.

"I want my kids to have an understanding for people who don't have what we have," said Victoria Weiss, who chose to pull her boys out of school to attend the event. "It's important they see another aspect of life in America."

The Weiss family joined more than 400 doctors, dentists and nurses who flew in from across the country to volunteer at the event, which saw about 600 patients a day. Event organizers said about 10,000 medical services were performed during the week.

A team of 38 medical personnel came from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, for example, and a group of 60 volunteers came from the Tzu Chi World organization to work at the event.

"This is a way to contribute to the future of New Orleans," said Walt Franz, a volunteer family doctor with the Mayo Clinic. "We are looking to do more where there is a high humanitarian importance and impact in the community and this was a perfect fit for our team."

The Weiss' are both optometrists who run their own practice. The couple has been volunteering their services since the 1980s, traveling the globe from Central America to New York City.

"We want to help people who otherwise would never receive the eye care they need," Victoria said. "It's important to do what you can."

The Weiss' brought some of their own equipment to set up at in the vision tent. Victoria directed doctors and patients while her husband did eye exams and her sons worked the auto-refractors.

Jeremy concentrated on jotting down notes and being polite to people as he told them where to place their head so he could look at their eyes.

"I like to talk to people and hear about their lives," he said. "It's interesting."

The medical event, which was held Jan. 28 through Feb. 3, was a collaboration between Operation Blessing and Remote Area Medical (RAM), along with the International Medical Alliance (IMA), New Orleans Health Department and the LA Department of Health and Hospitals.

Services included dental work such as fillings, root canals, cleanings and extractions; eye exams and glasses; medical exams and primary healthcare; OBGYN, diabetic care, pediatrics and cardiology.

Operation Blessing spent more than $500,000 to help make the event a success; setting up more than 20,000 square feet of tent space outside their existing medical and dental clinics to house additional vision, dental and medical exam rooms.

"We do this for God and country and the people who need us.," said Franz, referring to volunteer doctors with the Mayo Clinic. " It helps us all move toward a better future.”

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