The tragic bombings in Brussels this week were especially impactful for one UNMC couple.
Harold Schultz, Ph.D., professor, cellular/integrative physiology, and his wife, Barbara Hoover-Schultz, an administrator in the College of Nursing’s Niedfelt Nursing Research Center, were actually in Brussels when the bombings took place.
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Barbara Hoover-Schultz looks on as Harold Schultz, Ph.D., describes their experiences in Brussels to the media. |
Dr. Schultz had just finished his presentation at a two-day conference of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology when word came down around 9 a.m. that a bombing had occurred at the Metro train station four blocks away.
Hoover-Schultz was even closer to the bombing — she was in the Thon Hotel EU where they were staying right across the street from the Metro station.
“It was controlled chaos,” Hoover-Schultz said.
Shortly after the bombing, the Thon Hotel EU lobby was turned into a triage area for the victims.
Within minutes, paramedics, physicians and other health professionals attended to scores of bomb victims throughout the hotel lobby
Dr. Schultz was able to connect with his wife by using their smart phones, so he knew she was OK. But, it wasn’t until about seven hours later, that he was allowed to go back to the hotel and reunite with her.
The conference organizers arranged for cabs to take the presenters to Amsterdam — about two and a half hours away.
“It was an incredibly generous thing they did for us,” Dr. Schultz said. Cab fare to Amsterdam was about $900.
In contrast to Brussels, Amsterdam was quiet. Dr. Schultz and Hoover-Schultz were able to get a flight back to the United States and arrived home at 11 p.m. on Wednesday.
Even though jet lagged and having gone through a harrowing experience, they decided it was best to go to work on Thursday. It was business as usual.
“I had 200 emails to get to,” said Dr. Schultz, who has worked at UNMC for 26 years.
“I didn’t want to use another day of vacation,” said Hoover-Schultz, who has only been at the College of Nursing for six months, although she worked for 10 years in the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine during the 1990s.
The experience struck close to home.
Dr. Schultz said, “Even though these things happen in isolated areas of the world, they have a global impact on everyone, even for us here in Omaha.
“We loved Brussels. We were really sad this happened. It’s a great city fallen victim to evil.”
Barb,
So glad you two are home and safe.
I cannot imagine going through an experience such as this. I am glad you both made it back safely!
Dear Barb and Harold, So glad you are safe! Glad that the conference took such good care of its attendees. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.