Sunday, February 6, 2011

Right to Sight Eye Clinic

The past two weeks in Senegal have been some of the best of my service. The non-profit organization, “Right to Sight and Health (http://www.righttosightandhealth.org/),” came to the Tambacounda Regional Hospital with the intention of restoring sight through providing cataract surgeries for those in need, while training a local nurse to continue providing care. Tamba volunteer Anna's dad, optometrist Rick Alsobrook, joined Right to Sight to do consultations, identifying cataract surgery candidates and checking patients visual acuity to provide glasses or medications to correct vision.



This is Anna and her dad Rick, or Papa Brooks as we refer to him.

As Peace Corps volunteers our biggest role was to provide translations between the American doctors and nurses and the Senegalese patients. We ended up having a much more hands on role in the whole process assisting the doctors and nurses anyway we could.

My job the first week was to work with post operative patients. We took off their bandages, cleaned their eyes, gave them a series of drops, translated for them for their day one check up and then gave them instructions on how to take care of their eye. It was one of the most rewarding things I've ever done.



One day a 19 year old came in for a consultation. She was completely blind in both eyes. The doctor said her cataracts were so dense that it was very likely surgery would produce no results. He decided to go ahead and give it a chance considering her age and the fact that she had nothing to lose. The next day another volunteer removed her bandage and as I walked by her she grabbed my arm and said “I can see you!!” Tears immediately filled my eyes and I knew that if nothing else came of this mission it would still have been completely worth it.



This is her, Oulymatu Sow, with her sister and myself after getting her second eye operated on. She now has a long life of sight ahead of her and can be a much more independent woman.

The second week I had the chance to work in the operating room. As volunteers our job was to get patients ready for surgery by numbing their eyes with drops and cleaning them with iodine. During the surgery we would light the alcohol lamp for cauterization (because we are still in the middle ages here), prepare the implant lens, get the doctors anything they needed, prepare anesthesia for the following patients, clean instruments, etc. When surgery was over we would give a shot of steroid under the eye, give a series of eye drops and patch the eye. It was so neat to have such a hands on experience in the OR.



We also get to repeatedly watch surgery. An added bonus was that we had a teaching microscope so at times we could watch the surgery at microscopic level and see exactly what the doctors were looking at. It felt like watching discovery channel.



The results of the mission were amazing. 185 surgeries were performed. Countless consultations were conducted. One nurse was trained to do the surgery and can continue to correct cataracts. Other nurses were trained to use equipment to better check visual acuity and identify eye problems.



The end of the two weeks was bittersweet. I was exhausted but after feeling productive everyday and being involved in a team working for something so positive it was hard for it to end. At the end I really felt re-inspired. The doctors and nurses were so dedicated and in love with their jobs. I enjoyed what I did so much I could see myself going into nursing or medicine. To show patients compassion, be their advocate and work towards their better health was so satisfying.