They originally wanted to come to Belize to help mop up after last year’s hurricanes. But the members of the Ontario Lion’s Club are in Belize helping with something considered much more urgent – eye care. The 4 registered optometrists, 3 ophthalmologists and support staff from the Canadian Vision Care Team set up shop at the Lion’s Den on Princess Margaret Drive. They came equipped to see 1,200 patients but at the close today – that number was closer to 1,500 patients. We visited on Tuesday and here’s what we saw.
Keith Swift Reporting,
It was a full house at the Lion’s Clinic on Tuesday. All of these people have one thing in common – they are eye patients. In the crowd we met 3 year old Corey Henry. His mother Sarita Cal brought him to the clinic because he can’t see well.
Sarita Cal, Mother of Eye Patient
“T think he has a near sighted problem. I think he can’t see well so every time he watches the TV or do anything he has to go very close to the object or so, very close to the TV. He complains about his right eye, he can’t see too well and that’s why I brought him.”
Keith Swift,
What have the doctors told you?
Sarita Cal,
“Well we are going through some testing right now so I will see what they will say. I fear that he just gets worse because he is three years old right now.”
And while Sarita Cal fears her son will lose his vision – 61-year-old Rosalia Magana has already begin to lose hers. She is a diabetic and her eye health is rapidly deteriorating. I sat right next to her but she said she could barely see me.
Rosalia Magana, Eye Patient
“One doctor when I checked already told me that my eye is bleeding from the back and that needs an operation so well I came to check here to see
what they will tell me.”
Keith Swift,
You fear losing your eye sight?
Rosalia Magana,
“Well exactly yes in a way because at least right now I could see a little clear, I don’t see too much but I could see but after the operation I just get more worse, I wouldn’t like it.”
Keith Swift,
So are you seeing me clearly?
Rosalia Magana,
“Yes I could see but blurr blurr blurr. The nurse told me to come tomorrow. They checked my blood test and my sugar and they said the sugar is over three hundred. So I have to go to the clinic and get an injection, insulin, and then when I turn back tomorrow Wednesday, they will see if the sugar went down.”
There was an easy solution for 12 year old Trevor Jones, a student at Grace Primary School. He came with an eye problem and left with a new pair of glasses.
Trevor Jones, Eye Patient
“I have like a vision in front of my eye, a black thing I always see, and I can’t see from far, only from close and when I read the words I don’t read all of them correct.”
Keith Swift,
So what did the doctors tell you?
Trevor Jones,
“The doctors told me that something is in front of my eyes and I can’t see good and I need to get my classes and I am to keep it on when I am at school.”
The doctors at the clinic say most cases are like that of Trevor – no surgery needed – only one of the more than 1 thousand glasses they brought with them.
Dr. Amanda Spielman, Optometrist
“We checked for glasses, we checked the health of the eyes, and then
if we can we try to give some glasses that we brought with us from Canada.”
Keith Swift,
What are you finding in the people you see?
Dr. Amanda Spielman,
“We are finding a lot of cataract and cataract is when the lens inside the eyes get very cloudy and needs to be removed. It is a surgery that is done and it can be done here. We are also a seeing a lot of cases where the skins grows over the corner of the eye which is caused by living in this type of climate.”
Keith Swift,
Are you able to help most of the patients?
Dr. Amanda Spielman,
“Yes we are able to help most of the people here. We are able to provide them with some kind of eye drops or with glasses as well.”
Dr. Paul Burnham, Optician
“We find a lot of luck with providing the proper proscriptions for the people that are here. Very few people left without glasses.”
Keith Swift,
How many people have you provided with glasses so far?
Dr. Paul Burnham,
“Oh I think it must be 600, easily 600.”
Six hundred glasses in the first three days – and the program’s coordinator – Paul Mahabir says their target is 1200 patients.
Paul Mahabir, Coordinator
“The clinic is for six days. We have scheduled 200 patients a day, 100 in the morning, 100 in the afternoon, so in the duration of the clinic we would have seen at least 1,200 however on a daily basis we are taking in an extra 25 so the number is going up constantly.”
And Optemtrist Amanda Spielman says so many Belizeans need eye care because of the sun.
Dr. Amanda Spielman,
“The sun protection, to wear a hat or sun glasses or some kind of protection from the sun would probably be the number one thing to do.”
Dr. Paul Burnham,
“Again, sunglasses are very very important, hats, for sure.”
Advice you would be wise to follow if you don’t want to end up at this clinic the Next time it comes.
The Canadian Vision Care Team has done similar clinics in Guyana, Trinidad, and Grenada.
