Fritz Lolagne, MD

Dr. Fritz Lolagne was born, raised, and educated in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. One of seven children (he had 4 brothers and two sisters), he became the first doctor ever in his family. A sanitary officer, his father died in 1960 of pneumonia at the age of 62 when young Fritz was only 14. One of Dr. Lolagne's most vivid memories is that of his father calling his children to his bedside, informing them that he would soon die, and explaining that, while he left them little material wealth, he was leaving them with an untarnished name that they should defend until they die. Unflappable in his honesty and integrity, Dr. Lolagne has lived up to his father's wishes.

After completing a residency in General Surgery in 1976, Dr. Lolagne moved to Petit Goave where he worked for many years as a general surgeon. He married Martha and they had a son in 1979 and daughters in 1983 and 1986. On December 17, 1994, Dr. Lolagne received a call from his wife about a close friend with gravidic toxemia, he rushed to the hospital but it was too late; she had already passed. He performed a caesarian section and was able to deliver the baby.  With the father�s authorization, the baby then became his third daughter by adoption.

After the death of his father, all Dr. Lolagne�s immediate family members migrated to the States and became U.S. citizens. One of his brothers asked him to move to the States with him in 1968, but he refused, knowing his only chance to become a doctor was to stay in Haiti where medical studies are free at the state university. One of his sisters became an immigration officer in Miami. His mother, who was living with her, died at age 86 in 1995. His sister died of breast cancer on April 9, 2009.

In 1999 and 2000, his home in Petion-Ville, Haiti was vandalized at gunpoint 3 times, once while the family was home. That was enough. In 1997, he was issued a patent on vasectomy forceps by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Three years later, he found an agency in Orlando that allowed him to find an H1B visa. He then moved his family to Orlando but he had to pay over $21,000 in legal fees to keep his family in the US when immigration policies became more strict after 9/11.

Despite the fact that his wife and 3 daughters resided in States (his son moved back to Haiti), Dr. Lolagne remained committed to using his surgical skills to try to improve the lives of his countrymen. In September 2006, he went to work in Haiti and started working in the health section of USAID. To be more involved in family planning services, he switched to MSH (Management Sciences for Health), a U.S. government funding program. He continues to work for MSH, providing tubal ligation and vasectomy services at over a dozen MSH sites throughout Haiti, including two islands (Ile de la Tortue and Ile a Vache), traveling hundreds of miles over difficult roads to provide the services that are so important to the future of Haiti.

Dr. Lolagne's children have apparently inherited or been inspired by his zest for life and service. His oldest daughter (27) is an attorney in West Palm Beach, and an advocate for less fortunate and formerly oppressed people seeking a better life. His second daughter earned a micro/ molecular biology degree from UCF (University of Central Florida), and his youngest daughter is a star pupil at her high school in Orlando.

Dr. Lolagne could be living a much easier life with his wife and daughters in Orlando, but a sense of commitment inspires him to endure oppressive summer heat, torrential rains, marginal sleeping conditions, and fear of another earthquake to serve his country. He is truly an unsung hero of his culture, his homeland, and humanity.