October 4, 2011

Minneapolis Clinic Day One and Two

By hwertman

Congratulations Team Minneapolis! We had a successful start to our week long clinic.  Our culturally diverse group certainly came in handy!  We have experienced situations where we were lucky to have their language skills assist with the exam process. Foreign languages, such as Hmong and Spanish, have been used repeatedly over the last two days. Blai, a coordinator from Target Optical in Colorado, has helped multiple families with her native language from Thailand. She had an instant connection with two children named Amy and Ryan. They held her hand and looked up to her throughout the day!

Jaycee, a 7 year old recipient, cracked up the group in the auto-refraction area, when he opened his mouth – super wide – when he was asked to open wide. “Your eyes, Jaycee…your eyes! Silly boy!” Jen said with laughter.

Allen, an 11 year old, told Michelle, “I really want glasses. I think I really need them.” Turns out he had a -6.50 cylinder in both eyes! Yes, Allen was right! He really needed them.

Tracy dispensed a pair of glasses yesterday that touched everyone that was watching. A stylish pair of glasses was given to a teenage boy named Bradley, whose mother reacted with tears and hugs for everyone. “Bradley’s face lit up! And his mom wouldn’t let me go! She was hugging me so hard because she was so sincerely grateful! I texted everyone I know to share the story with them. My heart just melts thinking about it.”

Stay tuned for more stories to come!

On a bonding note the team went to dinner at Bullfrogs in downtown Minneapolis. The food was great especially the fried pickles which had a tasty peanut butter dipping sauce. Yummy! Some enjoyed the warm weather with an evening excursion on bikes to the popular sculpture garden to enjoy the city's commitment to Art in public places!

3 Comments

  1. Tara Giannunzio says:

    This was my first experience volunteering for Onesight! The entire team made me feel welcome. It was so rewarding to see all of the children’s happy faces! I can’t wait for the chance to do it again!

    Posted on Thu Oct 6, 2011 2:56 pm EST

  2. Amanda says:

    How is the frame selection for U.S. missions? I’ve only experienced international missions. Hopefully you had more stylish options! =)

    Posted on Thu Oct 6, 2011 6:30 pm EST

  3. Renee Hill says:

    The frame selection was really good, we had some nice Raybans, DKNY, Vogues, a few higher end.  Most liked the plastic frames over the wires.  We had a plenty of frames.  I’m sure its much easier to have a steady supply in the States.

    Posted on Fri Oct 7, 2011 6:53 pm EST

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