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Clinic Blog: Cleveland Clinic Blog

November 22, 2010

Final Days in Cleveland!

By btaylor

Hi Everyone,

 

We are all back home and seem to be missing clinic and each other already!  It’s amazing how close you become with the Core team and even the volunteers! 

 

On Thursday night we had our final dinner and silent auction.  As tradition goes, everyone brings something to be auctioned.  Also, we had a handful of items that were put in a live auction.  Our Auctioneer was Ken Lanci himself and we all had fun!  In total we raised approximately $4,000 for OneSight!  Way to go Team Cleveland!

 

We then told some stories about our experiences.  Here are a couple stories told:

 

Linda Delahaye was telling us about one little boy in 1^st or 2^nd grade that was overall considered dumb.  However, he had a –12 meaning the child couldn’t see anything that was more that 1-inch from his face.  What a different life this child will have when gets his glasses!

 

Another little boy that touched the heart of Stephanie Vicars, was very scared.  He was so scared he wouldn’t talk to anyone or participate in any of the tests.  His teacher wasn’t very understanding.  Therefore Stephanie took it upon herself to talk to the boy and gained his trust.  He then eventually got through all the tests and was diagnosed with a –2.  But at the end of the day, he was afraid someone would take his glasses away.

 

Wow, to know that we made a difference in these kids’ lives! 

 

Then myself, Brenda Taylor was helping in dilation.  We were at the end of clinic and several of the teenagers were asking about why we dilate the eyes.  So, I sat down to help explain that the dilated eye allows the Doctor to get in and really see the health of the eye.  Before I knew it, several kids all wanting to tell me about what they want to be and just talk circled me.  It was so full feeling to know that just bye taking a few minutes to talk to the kids it made them feel good!

 

Also, Dr. Bill was telling us about the dedication of the doctors.  They all vowed to not break for lunch until the last child was examined!  Way to go Doctors! 

 

On Friday, we saw another couple hundred kids and made several more glasses.  In total we saw 1,300 kids and made 900 glasses.  Wow!

 

Also, a huge Thank you to all the volunteers and to Ken, Linda and Vickie.  Thank you for having the foresight and love to partner with OneSight on this Clinic! 

 

To all the fans and friends out there, if these stories and blogs touched your heart at all, think about making a donation to OneSight.  If you are an employee, think about applying for a clinic next year…it will be life changing.  During our clinic I made the statement, to quote the movie The Blind Side…we all came to Cleveland to change the kids lives, but I think we all can say they changed ours!

 

Signing off…Team Cleveland, You Roc!

 

 

 

November 18, 2010

Team Cleveland…day 3 & 4

By btaylor

HELLLOOO  EVERYONE!

Its day four of our Clinic in Cleveland!  We are rocking and rolling…(we did go to the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame last night…so much fun!)  But regarding clinic we are rocking!  We have seen 1175 students to date and have made 836 pairs of glasses.  All glasses have been made and we have dispensed some glasses already!  To Date, EyeVan, has produced 10,000 pairs of glasses!  Way to go EyeVan!!

We have seen some interesting children, but really aren’t they all?  But we saw an Albino boy today.  Due to his pigmentation, he needs transition lenses and we are going to be able to provide them for him…Yea!

We had a young girl with only one working eye and her good eye was a -6.  It was the first time she was receiving glasses and we were able to provide 2 pairs.  In fact, for all the kids with a script that was higher than 8, we have been able to provide 2 pairs of glasses.

We have even seen a couple of kids that were really upset that they didn’t need glasses, so we have been able to provide them with “glasses”! 

The team really has been thinking outside of the block as well!  One of our team members came up with the idea of having the kids do their registration paperwork on the bus and we have staggered the arrival of the buses.  These two changes made a huge difference.  We were able to get 371 students through clinic in less time than Tuesday when we saw only 340 kids.  The kids were sitting around less and it ran much smoother!  Way to go Team Cleveland!   

November 17, 2010

Day One in Cleveland-OneSight

By btaylor

Hi Everyone!

The first two days of clinic have been exciting and busy!  As team members we have been extremely busy getting to know each other, training or remembering each of the stations and coming together as a team!  We have 37 Core Team Members as well as several area volunteers and local students.    The team member that traveled the furthest is May Thomas who came from Hawaii!  She traveled two days!

Attached are pictures of our team as they are training and getting to know the equipment.   Looks like fun doesn’t it?  Autorefraction can be trick as well as  tonometry…Laura Connelly make sure to hold your head still!  Dr Bill is making sure Rhonda Wilson and the students are well trained in visual acuities as well.  And there is Linda Delahaye in the controller position, one of the most important spots during clinic.  The controller makes sure all the children are seen and all the paperwork gets turned in!

We had two beautiful young ladies come through early our first day!  Caitlin and Lindsay are sisters and the sweetest little girls.  Caitlin has had 13 surgeries and was a real challenge to fit as she barely has a bridge and her eyes are set wide apart.  While Alison Faye was fitting Caitlin with frames, Lindsay kept the rest of us busy with stories of her family vacation to Myrtle Beach!  Within a short time, we had new glasses for both girls and as you can see they look beautiful! 

On Monday night, Mr. Ken Lansing, our clinic partner and Consolidated Graphics Group, held a recognition dinner for the clinic members and donors for the clinic.  It was a beautiful setting, great food and a great OneSight video (video coming soon!)  After the dinner, The Cleveland Six (JaneWalters, Jody Eardley, Laura Connelly, Angie Moore, Brenda Taylor and Valerie Singer)  willingly allowed others to have rides back to the hotel and finally made it back 2 hours later!  Way to take one for the team girls!

Although fun is being had by all, at the end of the day, we all are aware of why we are here, to Give the Gift of sight to the children of Cleveland.  To that end, we saw right at 300 students Monday and made 241 glasses, WAY TO GO TEAM!

On Tuesday, we saw 330 students!  Our production team has been an A Team.  We have seen Rx’s as high as -13.50 with -3 and – 4 cylinders.  Due to the EyeVan, we have been able to make all of these lenses on site and the children will get their glasses this week!  We have also seen several deaf children as well.  They present a special challenge and we are able to handle them with special care!

November 8, 2010

OneSight Clinic in Cleveland!!

By btaylor

Hi!

If you're interested in virtual participation in our upcoming OneSight Clinic to Cleveland, Ohio, you've landed on the right blog! Our team of 30 volunteers and doctors will spend one week in Cleveland providing complete eye exams and new glasses to hundreds of students who could not otherwise afford to see the world clearly.

Each day, right here on this very page, we will be posting highlights from our vision care Clinic including stories of our recipients, team experiences and a little about Cleveland itself. We converge on Cleveland on Monday, November 15th and will be posting messages and photographs through Friday, November 19. Be sure to log on every day so you don't miss a minute of the excitement! And, if you’re interested, our team is also raising money to help fund our Clinic. Make your donation to our team today! At http://onesight.donordrive.com/index.  Use the search feature to lookup our team, Cleveland, or your favorite team member!

OneSight is a family of charitable programs dedicated to improving vision through outreach, research and education. Sponsored by Luxottica, OneSight programs have helped more than 7 million people over its 20-year history.

 During our regional clinic we will be providing new glasses for our participants through state of the art mobile vision van!  We are all so excited to be giving the Gift of Sight to Cleveland!  Be sure to check back daily to find out what our team is doing and to read about our life changing experiences!