Thursday, December 15, 2011
Duk has more than the usual number of AIM Air flights landing here recently. Besides my arrival with Moses and cargo two weeks ago, one flight arrived with medical staff and cargo Tuesday, another one is arriving today with more docs and supplies, and Friday morning we are expecting more ASAH materials, including tiles for the showers and toilets. They'll be beautiful and hygienic compared to the bare concrete in the pit latrines on the clinic compound.
In spite of hardships like this, the JDF Lost Boys Clinic is doing amazing work in Duk Payuel. Hundreds of people have come from all across the county and beyond—blind people holding sticks held by family members leading them to the promise of sight.
These doctors from the Moran Eye Institute have systems in place, though there are difficulties presented working here where there are no surgical facilities or surgically-trained staff assistants. Nevertheless, they have trained the clinic staff to assist in all aspects from screening to documenting, and the machine looks well-oiled to me.
There is a perfect storm causing blindness here—more percentage of blind people than anywhere else in the world. There is an abundance of UV rays from the ever-present blistering sun, there's a lack of antioxidants in the diet. The insects and infections and disease that cause glaucoma, trachoma and river blindness are also factors here. In addition, there is a high level of congenital cataracts here. One 18-month-old girl arrived on an AIM flight. She has cataracts, but the surgeons discovered she has additional causes of blindness that are not correctable. Some patients will return home still blind, some will have limited sight, but many will return to their lives with near-perfect vision. There are some whole families—mother and children, who have regained their eyesight.
Showing posts with label blind. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blind. Show all posts
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
The Blind
Tuesday, December 13
Today was the beginning of a big week for the clinic. AIM Air landed with a group of medical folks from The Moran Eye Center - http://uuhsc.utah.edu/MoranEyeCenter/outreach/international.html - and elsewhere: doctors, nurses, and others involved with the upcoming cataract surgeries that will be performed beginning Thursday. Several more eye surgeons arrive Thursday. Some of the docs brought small camping tents which now dot the clinic compound; others were moved into the clinic staff tents, and these staff moved into the almost-finished block housing nearby. Because the rainy season road conditions have made getting materials here impossible until just recently, ASAH loaned mattresses and other needed items from our storage for the guests. Since my last visit, the clinic has been using two of our tables and a stool as well. I don't know what they'll do when we take them back in January, but the clinic has been a gracious host to me over the many weeks I've spent here in the past year, and I'm glad ASAH can give back.
It's lively here in the compound and the complexion has changed with the number of kuwajas (literally—foreigners, but used to designate us white folks) now present. Many of the clinic staff now spend their off hours at the new housing or on the outskirts of the gathering area, so I miss them at meal times and in the evenings, though the conversation, dotted with snippets of medical stories, reports on the day's screenings, and joke telling, is interesting.
Blind people have walked here from as far away as Bor—a four day walk—to be screened for cataract surgery. In most cases, the blind person uses a cane and holds onto a long stick as a sighted person leads them slowly along rutted, dusty, stony paths and roadways, and through the grasslands. One six-year-old girl led her blind grandmother on a two-day walk from their village.
By Wednesday about 170 candidates were scheduled for cataract surgeries, and at least one trachoma patient has already had an operation. The doctors are working in makeshift operating suites. The Lost Boys Clinic is a basic care facility, not a hospital, but this team will make it work. Unfortunately, some patients are turned away because there is no sight to be restored. There are also at least ten children under 14 with cataracts. More patients will arrive over the next few days.
Today was the beginning of a big week for the clinic. AIM Air landed with a group of medical folks from The Moran Eye Center - http://uuhsc.utah.edu/MoranEyeCenter/outreach/international.html - and elsewhere: doctors, nurses, and others involved with the upcoming cataract surgeries that will be performed beginning Thursday. Several more eye surgeons arrive Thursday. Some of the docs brought small camping tents which now dot the clinic compound; others were moved into the clinic staff tents, and these staff moved into the almost-finished block housing nearby. Because the rainy season road conditions have made getting materials here impossible until just recently, ASAH loaned mattresses and other needed items from our storage for the guests. Since my last visit, the clinic has been using two of our tables and a stool as well. I don't know what they'll do when we take them back in January, but the clinic has been a gracious host to me over the many weeks I've spent here in the past year, and I'm glad ASAH can give back.
It's lively here in the compound and the complexion has changed with the number of kuwajas (literally—foreigners, but used to designate us white folks) now present. Many of the clinic staff now spend their off hours at the new housing or on the outskirts of the gathering area, so I miss them at meal times and in the evenings, though the conversation, dotted with snippets of medical stories, reports on the day's screenings, and joke telling, is interesting.
Blind people have walked here from as far away as Bor—a four day walk—to be screened for cataract surgery. In most cases, the blind person uses a cane and holds onto a long stick as a sighted person leads them slowly along rutted, dusty, stony paths and roadways, and through the grasslands. One six-year-old girl led her blind grandmother on a two-day walk from their village.
By Wednesday about 170 candidates were scheduled for cataract surgeries, and at least one trachoma patient has already had an operation. The doctors are working in makeshift operating suites. The Lost Boys Clinic is a basic care facility, not a hospital, but this team will make it work. Unfortunately, some patients are turned away because there is no sight to be restored. There are also at least ten children under 14 with cataracts. More patients will arrive over the next few days.
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