Clowning Around

By Angie Lewis

Twenty-seven-year-old Anthony Gabriel (B.S., Health Services Administration, '02) walks to his flight at Orlando International Airport wearing a knee-length jacket and matching pants made up of patches of brightly colored, mismatched fabric. Under his jacket, he sports a black and white referee shirt and a tie covered in yellow rubber duckies. His accessories include a pair of white gloves and a silver robot backpack. He tops off his ensemble with a flowerpot hat, an oversized pair of plastic green sunglasses - without the lenses - and a big, red nose. His final destination - Russia.

Although it sounds like he should be arrested by the fashion police, Gabriel and 43 other volunteer clowns from 11 countries traveled to Russia - in costume - for two weeks in November 2003 with Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams, who inspired the movie named after him.

Adams invited Gabriel and the others to join him on his 19th annual international clown trip to visit children's hospitals, as well as some orphanages and nursing homes. During their stay, the wig-wearing assembly visited about 30 children's hospitals in the Russian capital of Moscow and the city of St. Petersburg. "It's been a dream of mine to reach out across the world to help others," Gabriel said.

His normal day job for the past two years has been at Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, Fla., where he is a coordinator for more than 1,000 volunteers.

Gabriel's enthusiasm for clowning initially began when he worked at a retail store almost eight years ago. He dressed up as a clown for a Halloween event and was such a hit, the store asked him to dress up for other special events. "It was so much fun interacting with people," he said.

Then, after seeing "Patch Adams," Gabriel wrote a letter to the unconventional doctor. To his surprise, Adams replied. The two corresponded for more than a year and eventually Adams invited Gabriel to join him in Russia.

The hospitals in Russia are suffering, Gabriel said. "I didn't see any computers, the facilities were not well stocked and there were up to six beds in each room," he said. "There's a level of poverty that's very hard to imagine unless you go to that country and see it firsthand. To know that doctors get paid $150 a month is unbelievable. But the children received us extremely well. They didn't want us to leave."

Gabriel would eventually like to become a pediatrician. But for now, he knows being a volunteer clown is something he wants to continue indefinitely. He also said he would like to start a special clown group in the United States that would follow in the footsteps of Patch Adams.

"Life is a great adventure," he said. "You never know where it's going to take you."