October 19, 2012

Day 5

By amullen

Today was the last day of the week for clinic and the very last day for some of our team members. Today we saw 140 children and 115 needed glasses. I went on a dispense today with my teammate Christa Curran and Joeline Magoto. The two schools were JFK High School and Adlai Stevenson. My daughter, Brianna came to the high school to help assist with the dispensing. The students were very excited and appreciative to receive their new eyewear. I noticed that the highschoolers were very concerned with how cool and stylish they looked in their new specs. The younger kids' most common response was, "I can see so far now!"

We dispensed the glasses at Adlai Stevenson in the library which has very large windows and all the students walking by can see in. I walked down the hallway to give the office the copies of all the prescriptions and on my way back a little boy stopped me and said he wanted to get his glasses but they didn't call him down to the library. I asked him his name and then I checked his name on the list and it wasn't there. So I went back out and asked him if he went to the clinic with his friends and he said he did. He began to describe all the machines and the tests he got to do. Then I asked him if he chose a frame and he said no, that they said he didn't need to. So I explained to him that he probably didn't need glasses right now and he should feel lucky that his eyes are great. He said, with a sad face, "Man, I wanted some glasses." I told him when he's older he will definately need bifocals. Then a smile appeared and he said, "Bifocals, AWESOME!!!"

When we got back to clinic the day was pretty much wrapped up. Here's a story from one of our team members that she wanted to share...

"I was dispensing glasses to Ricardo, who was wearing a -8.50/-8.00. He had not had glasses for about 1 1/2 years. He was so sweet and when he left he tried to put the glasses away in the case, he was so used to not wearing them, he didn't think about wearing them."

- REBECCA BARKLEY LensCrafters #0765

It was time to say goodbye to 3 of our team members. Dwayne Grant and Drusie Thompson will be departing right after clinic along with one of our team doctors, Dr. Sonya Patel. It was a bittersweet moment to reflect on all our success for the week and all the new friendships we created, but sad to see some of our new friends leave.

Our grand totals for the week...

936 children seen, 711 needed glasses (some receiving 2 pairs) and 14 referrals!!!

Go TEAM CLEVELAND!!!

The team will have the weekend off and then it's back to work on Monday. Relax and enjoy, team. You deserve it!!! 

Amy Mullen and Christa Curran on the way to dispense
Student from Adlai Stevenson waiting patiently for her glasses while her classmate is being fitted
Student modeling his new eyewear
Amy Mullen fitting a student at Adlai Stevenson
Another student showing off her new specs
Christa Curran fitting a student at Adlai Stevenson
Volunteer Brianna Phillips assisting with a dispense
Another student modeling his very hip frames

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2 Comments

  1. Julie Nathanson says:

    I love reading these heart warming stories. All I can say is WOW! So many kids. You guys are doing amazing work! Region 9 is so proud of Christa Curran, our Onesight Superstar.

    Posted on Tue Oct 23, 2012 12:53 pm EST

  2. amullen says:

    Just wanted to say I’m so proud of my daughter, Brianna, that volunteered with dispensing today. She was so helpful because we had forgot our mirror and she used her mirror app on her iPhone so the school children could see themselves. She was such a joy and the kids got a real kick out of it!!!

    Posted on Thu Oct 25, 2012 10:17 am EST

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About the Clinic

2012 Cleveland Clinic Blog Clinic

A team of OneSight volunteers and doctors will provide free vision care and eyewear to local students in need.

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