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Clinic Blog: 2011 Mexico 2 Clinic Blog

September 11, 2011

The past 2 days have gone by so quick!

By saubinger

The last two clinic days of Thursday and Friday we saw over 1400 and 1300 patients respectively.  Friday we closed the doors early and we still were able to see so many1  It is a true testament to how well we have been working together the last two weeks.  It still amazes us to see how grateful the people of Hermosillo are and how much they enjoy talking with us.  I can't begin to tell you the number of times someone has said bless you, thank you, or wished us happiness and success in our lives because of the small amount of time we've given them. 

One story in particular that really touched me was the story of two autistic brothers who came in to the clinic.  Their mother said that they get very upset and scared around crowds and doctor offices, so it would be tough to get anything done for them.  We were able to get them up to the front of the lines and see the doctor right away.  Dr. Sanjay Patel took the time to talk with the kids, play a game with them to help them relax and stay calm, and the brothers made it through the whole process with glasses.  The mother was so incredibly grateful to us and couldn't stop thanking us for all we had done. 

That's what the clinic has been all about.  Doing everything we can to help as many people as we can.  As much as the people of Hermosillo enjoyed having us there and all of the appreciation and gratitude they showed us, we were genuinely touched and grateful for the opportunity to serve them.  They touched our lives in a way that is not easily described or understood to someone who has not been on a OneSight mission, but hopefully this blog has given readers a glimpse into what we did every day, and what all of the other missions have done and will continue to do far into the future. 

All of this would not be possible without help from our Partners in Hermosillo.  Cre Ser, Sedesson, the Government of Sonora and the countless volunteers, building staff, and even some patients themselves at times!

On a personal note, I would like to personally thank Alfonso Leon, Firas Trabulsi, Dr. Melanie Chaney, and Dr. Sanjay Patel for some pictures, and especially Maria Arias, who took some amazing pictures as our photography captain and was very accommodating to requests I had for different types of pictures.

As I write this, I believe that all of the team has successfully made it home to Canada, Italia, Deutschland, England, Mexico, and points all over the United States.  We are all now going back to our normal lives having shared this awesome experience and making some life-long friends.  We have came from all over the world, from different cultures and backgrounds for the common goal of helping people see. And wow did we succeed! 

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the blog with stories and pics, as well as to Sara Savio for some Italian Entries as well. 

Thanks for following and we all hope you will continue to support OneSight and all the amazing things we do!

Italian Entry from Sara Savio:

E' davvero incredibile quanto il tempo scorra rapidamente durante una clinica OneSight: i giorni sono avanzati e dopo aver passato 2 settimane insieme ormai tutti siamo tornati alle nostre case, dalle nostre persone care, senza nascondere una certa emozione nel lasciare i nuovi amici...

 Tante sono le sensazioni e le emozioni cose che abbiamo da raccontare, ricordi che per sempre rimaranno impressi nei nostri cuori e nella nostra mente ma come conclusione del nostro viaggio voglio parlarvi di una bimba che ho incontrato negli ultimi giorni in clinica. Non vi parlo di gravi difetti visivi o patologie gravi ma di una bimba che fortunatamente vede bene, ma che comunque ha toccato una qualche corda del mio cuore. no dei traduttori, spingeva una sedia a rotelle e dentro c'era una bimba con seri problemi di deambulazione. Chiaccherava con lui in attesa che il dottore potesse visitarla. Quando é arrivato il suo turno il ragazzo ha iniziato a spingerla: lei si é girata e gli ha detto che faceva da sola... Mi ha colpito molto la grinta di questa bambina e il suo grido a noi e al mondo che nonostante tutto lei ce l'avrebbe fatta da sola! E credetemi che con l'energia con la quale si spingeva da sola sono certa che ce la farà!!! Non ci sono ostacoli insormontabili, basta metterci tutta la grinta e l'energia che riusciamo a trovare dentro di noi: questo è l'insegnamento più grande che questa bimba dagli occhioni neri ha saputo dare a chi l'ha incontrata nel suo cammino...

 E con questo racconto finisce l'avventura messicana, ancora una volta il ritorno a casa è bello perchè si ritorna tra i nostri affetti, ma ci manca qualcosa... mancano i nuovi amici, mancano i sorrisi della gente e il sentirsi utile...

 Ringraziamo di cuore tutti coloro che ci hanno seguito con entusiasmo, lasciandoci tanti messaggi sul blog... è stato bello sentirvi vicini! Un ringraziamento particolare poi a tutti coloro che hanno lavorato con noi: amici del team OneSight, amici della Sedesson e di TUTTI coloro che hanno permesso la realizzazione di questa clinica... GRAZIE DI CUORE!

September 8, 2011

Over 1300 hundred people helped yesterday!

By saubinger

We did it again!  We gave over 1300 people the gift of sight yesterday!  We started people in on the clinic process the second we walked into the door thanks to some help from our clinic partners and volunteers.  We continued the trend of working like a well oiled machine for our patients.  Nothing was too much for us to do in order to help the people of Hermosillo.  Case in point, there was a man who came in with a really high Rx and amazingly we had some lenses that were very close to his actual Rx.  Unfortunately, it was hard to fit them to him because the thickness of the lens prevented us from being able to adjust the frame to sit on his face properly.  So what did we do?  Mike Bates and Rich Hoffman worked quickly on filing down the lens edge to make it work!  (pics below)  It really was quite amazing! 

We also had many people that were extremely grateful once again.  It's hard to count the number of times we've gotten thank yous. god bless yous, and hugs from our patients.  They are amazing people!

 

Kind of a short entry today, but I included as many photos below as time would allow.  Look for more stories and pics during our last two clinic days today and tomorrow.

 

Hasta Luego!

 

September 7, 2011

We helped over 1400 people yesterday!

By saubinger

After two non-clinic days (and a very lucrative silent auction) to experience Mexican culture and recharge our batteries, we were back at it yesterday and boy did it show!  We had our busiest day so far this clinic where the final number helped was 1414!  We all have learned to work well together and do everything we can to help eachother out.  The heat index was over 115 degrees but we still able to work harder than we have since our srrival.

One patient in particular made quite the journey to get to us.  A woman with a very sick son who needed glasses very badly brought him from 3 hours away.  After waiting outside for some time, they got to the gate but wehad closed the clinic doors for the day.  After a very brief discussion among the leadership, we let them come in of course!  The mother was so grateful and excited she could hardly contain her emotions. 

One patient in particilar that was very appreciative works at our hotel.  He has been great at helping make our stay here comfortable and always with a smile on his face.  He and his wife and child all came to the clinic yesterday to receive glasses!  He was so happy when we saw him at the team dinner all he wanted to do was show us his new glasses!

We also had another patient who had a Rx of -11.00 and was getting glasses for the first time.  It's always amazing to see the emotions on patient's faces when they see clearly for the first time!

We also had a Birthday to celebrate for Juanita Tovar!  We sang to her before the the clinic opened yesterday and again at the team dinner.  We had a special cake for her and some of the staff of the hotel also joined in the singing!

 Italian entry ffrom Sara Savio

Hola!!! Anche la seconda settimana é partita alla grande, con circa 1400 persone che sono venute a trovarci. La voce della nostra presenza in citttà si é sparsa infatti questa mattina al nostro arrivo già molte erano le persone in fila all'entrata della clinica.
Il fine settimana é servito non solo per il nostro riposo, ma é stato molto utile anche per creare una squadra più unita...capace di divertirsi ma anche e soprattutto di lavorare alla grande con ritmi incalzanti. E' divertente vederci e sentirci parlare in tante lingue diverse, cencando di venirsi incontro l'un l'altro... A volte funziona, ma a volte é necessario giocare qualche traduttore jolly!

ringraziamo tutti quelli che ci seguono e che ci scrivono qualcosa nei commenti... Siamo felici di essere nei vostri pensieri! A presto

September 4, 2011

Over 2,000 people helped in 2 days!

By saubinger

The last two days have been a blur!  We've had a blast working hard to see as many people as we can.  As the days progressed, our team seemed to be working better and better and the days never seemed to overwhelming even though we're seeing almost twice as many people than on the first days! 

We've also been able to help a couple people in amazing ways!  Yesterday there was a 20 year old girl named Elsia who had never had glasses before.  After going through the doctor's stations, we found out she saw over 20/200!  She was a -10.00 Sph with a -3.50 Cyl in the one eye and a similar Rx in the other eye.  We were able to find a pair of glasses for her that were very close and you should have seen the look on her face when she put them on and looked around the clinic!  She was speechless!  right behind her was her mother who also had a very high Rx and she hadn't had glasses in years!  That's what these long days are all about for us.  Helping to improve people's daily lives.  It's hard to imagine not being able to see anything clearly your whole life! Imagine how better Elsia's will be now that she can actually see what's going on around her!

We are all passionate about what we're doing here, but Dale Bryant exemplifies the dedication and passion that we all share.  Dale has been on numerous OneSight missions over the past few years and even though he is not on this clinic mission, he was actually here in Hermosillo in 2005.  He is so dedicated to OneSight that he even got a tattoo! His daughter Brianna was born shortly after one of his mission and his passion for OneSight spilled over to her. She loved helping her dad recycle eyewear for OneSight.  Sadly, earlier this year she passed away.  One of her favorite things in the world were bubbles, so in honor of her memory, we all had little bottles of bubbles and blew them for the opening of the clinic.  Through out the week we have been giving them to the children running around the clinic and it always puts a smile on our faces every time we see bubbles floating around the clinic, thinking of Brianna and the passion that she had at such a young age.

The next two days we have a small break, so the blog may also, take a break, but Tuesday we pick right back up where we left off.  Hope all of you following are enjoying the entries and we'll talk to you soon!

Italian entry from Sara Savio

Ciao a tutti!
Prima settimana conclusa in modo splendido con una giornata piena, ma previsto che fosse così in quanto il sabato le persone non lavorano così hanno avuto tutto il tempo di venire in clinica. E' bello vedere l'armonia in cui il gruppo é riuscito fin da subito a trovare ed é incredibile pensare che solo poche persone si conoscevano prima di lunedì...
I pazienti che ci vengono a trovare in clinica sono pazienti, nonostante il caldo si faccia se
ntire e che ci sia da aspettare un po' per riuscire a terminare tutto il percorso della clinica, ma escono contenti... e con la prospettiva di una vita migliore!
E di noi italiani cosa si può dire? Grande gruppo: ciascuno sta trovando il proprio ruolo, lavorando duramente e mettendoci un grande cuore! I prossimi giorni ricarichiamo le pile per poter di nuovo essere in forma per la prossima settimana. Gente di Hermosillo aspettateci: martedì la clinica riapre!!!

September 1, 2011

Clinic day 2 complete!

By saubinger

Clinic day 2 is over, and wow what a day!  We nearly doubled the number of people we saw today!  Continuing with the trend, we were all learning more Spanish as the day progressed!  Thanks to our translators Zulma, Eduardo, Ana Lucia, and Norberto just to name a few.  Also, thanks to some of our Spanish speakers on the team:  Danny, Rosanna, Maria, Alfonso, Ivan, Paul, and Juanita.  Some of us even got to learn some Italian from Fulvio, Renato, Mari, Elena, and Samantha!  Throughout the day today, once again we were amazed at how thankful people were to receive their eyewear.  Throughout the week all the team members will get to experience the different stages of a clinic.  That way we all get to see the people we’re helping at the different stages of the clinic.  It already has turned into a fight to see eho gets to be at the dispense table, which is where clinic guests receive the glasses.  It’s always amazing to see the reaction on people’s faces when they can suddenly see clearly! 

Adding a touch of the un-expected, towards the end of the day it began to storm…in the desert!  The lightning was quite spectacular, as was the torrential down pour! What was really great was how quickly the team was able to secure all of the sensitive equipment and eyewear from the rain.  Some of the clinic partners in Hermosillo commented, after seeing us work, that they couldn’t believe almost all of us had never worked together before.  That says a lot about the caliber of people on our team and how passionate we are!  Below you will see some great photos.  If you don’t see them, click on the post headline to go to the main entry page, and they will be on the bottom. 

Buenos Dias!

Italian entry by Renato Ambrosini, Sara Savio, and Fulvio Fontanelle

E' passato il secondo giorno di questa avventura e gia' dalla mattina si sono visti dei cambiamenti, molte piu' persone hanno varcato la porta della clinica e tutto e'andato bene, quindi siamo pronti a ricevere molti piu' pazienti! Siamo stanchi ma soddisfatti di quello che stiamo facendo e i sorrisi della gente ci fanno dimenticare la fatica e i ritmi incalzanti. Non perdiamo occasione per creare un gruppo unito parlando con tutti in qualsiasi lingua Spagnolo, Inglese e Italiano non fanno piu' paura a nessuno del gruppo.

Oggi in particolare sembrava una giornata calda come tutte le altre ma ci ha sorpreso un violento nubifragio, ci hanno detto che a Hermosillo piove cosi' solo 4/5 volte l'anno e noi siamo stati cosi' fortunati di assistere a questo raro evento... peccato che la clinica si e' allagata e abbiamo dovuto mettere in salvo strumenti e occhiali. Quindi domani mattina ci aspetta un duro lavoro per riassettare tutte le postazioni e il percorso della clinica, MA CE LA FAREMO!!!!

Salutiamo tutti quelli che ci seguono.

Hasta Pronto!

September 1, 2011

Clinic day 1 is complete!  The 200th OneSight clinic is underway!

By saubinger

After all the set-up and prep work, the clinic is underway!  We have already served hundreds of people in Hermosillo!  We have already started to become great friends with our translators.  They have been amazing in helping us to communicate with people and are encouraging us to learn some spanish.  It's amazing to see how a patient's face lights up when you try and speak their language.  You can tell they really do appreciate it!  Every station in the process is fun, but the best part has to be at the dispense table where they get their glasses at the end.  It's amazing to see how their faces light up and every one is very thankfull and appreciative of the glasses and sunglasses they receive!  Also, while dispensing we saw a note in the bag with one of the glasses.  It was from a Lenscrafters store in Clarksville Tennessee. There was an email address attached to it wanting to know where their glasses were going.  How cool is that?!?  A lot of times we recylcle and neutralize eywear and don't get to see the final result first hand, but now they know exactly where it ended up!

Keep checking back for more pics and stories, and below I included an entry from Sara Savio, one of our Italian team members.  Buenos Dias!

Dopo l'organizzazione della clinica e il training di ieri oggi finalmente é iniziata questa nuova avventura targata OneSight, anzi, possiamo dire che ci sono stati altri 200 giorni che in giro per il mondo ile porte di una clinica internazionale si sono aperte! ... E' davvero un'emozione grande pensare a quante persone hanno potuto migliorare la loro condizione di vita e a quante ancora potranno avere il nostro aiuto!
E' stata una buona giornata di riscaldamento... in tutti i sensi in quanto fa veramente caldo... C'é stato un flusso abbastanza tranquillo di pazienti ma é stato utile per creare armonia tra tutto il gruppo OneSight e il gruppo di traduttori. Domani giorno numero 2: saremo più occupati ma siamo carichi!!!
Volete sapere come sono gli italiani? In SPLENDIDA FORMA!!! ... Nei prossimi giorni vi racconteremo di più...

August 30, 2011

The clinic is set-up, training is done, let’s Give the Gift of Sight!

By saubinger

The team had another very productive day today!  Some of the team got to the clinic extra early to help set-up the stations and get everything organized.  Barriers and signs put up, banners hung, equipment tested, and frames and lenses inventoried.  It was pretty amazing to see a large gymnasium changed into a giant functioning eyecare clinic in just a few hours!  Later on in the day the rest of the team joined the early birds and got trained in on the different stations.  We had tons of local partners and volunteers with us as well going through the training.  Everyone was eagar to learn and help and everyone was willing to go the extra mile to help eachother.  Through out the day, despite the heat, the enthusiasm stayed high!  Everyone was having fun getting things set-up, trying out the autorefractor, and let's face it, becoming familiar with the finer points of the giant misting fans!  Everyone is excited to start helping the people of Hermosillo.

I think that's the main thing that kept everybody in such high spirits-wanting to get everything set-up and perfect for the people that will be coming through our clinic. We were so excited that one of the electricians that helped with the set-up was the first recipient of our clinic!  He had trouble seeing up close (as mentioned, he's an electrician) so he ended up receiving a pair of bi-focals and sunglasses!  Just think how much easier it will be for him to earn a living!

We can't wait to start the 200th clinic Wednesday!

Note: we had some techincal difficulties uploading pics, but many more will be coming soon!

August 30, 2011

We’ve Arrived! Now, to the 10,000!

By saubinger

Well, despite some delayed flights, overnight stays, and sprints through the terminal, our North American Team has all arrived!  Soon we will be joined by our European team members and we will be complete!  Already at the team dinner we got to meet eachother and start bonding. 

Here's what we're up to for the clinic over the next 2 weeks.  Tomorrow we all get to see the clinic sight and go through a day of training and any last minute set-up items.  Already the people of Hermosillo have been very accomodating to us and our in country partners have been awesome and super helpful!  I got a chance to get a sneak peak of the sight today and there were local people everywhere getting things set up!  Wednesday the clinic starts and continues through Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  Then we have Sunday and Monday off to recoup and refresh our batteries, and then back at it Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of next week.  After that, we all start our journies home!  The time will just fly!  In just 8 clinic days, we will be helping over 10,000 people!  Wow!

We haven't even started our clinic and already have a great story!  The leadership team came in a few days early to do some prep and set-up for the rest of us so we had a smooth transistion.  While they were sitting and planing, two gentleman named Miguel and Jorge from Tecate, Mexico approached and asked them if they were their instructors.  It turns out that these men were part of a group of Mexican teachers who teach English in the schools all over Mexico and they are staying at our hotel for a conference!  Also, Jorge was seen at a free clinic when he was a child and ended up having surgery for strabismus.  He heard from our leadership team about what we were doing in Hermosillo and they wanted to help.  Turns out they are gonna come out a couple days to the clinic as translators!  How awesome is that?!?

We are all super excited to help the people of Hermosillo and can't wait to get started on Wednesday!  Keep following along to hear more great stories and see some pictures from our clinic!  Also, click on the main headline and it will hyperlink you to the detailed post that will display the photos.  Photos courtesy of Maria Eugenia Arias

Buenos Noches!

August 24, 2011

The 200th OneSight Clinic is Just Days Away!

By saubinger

Buenos Días!

Welcome to the blog page for the OneSight Clinic to Hermosillo, Mexico!  Our team of 40 volunteers and doctors are from all over the world including the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Mexico, Canada, and Germany.  We will be spending two weeks just outside of Hermosillo, Mexico providing complete eye exams and eyewear to thousands of people who could not otherwise afford to see the world clearly.  Something that makes this clinic extra special is that we will be lucky enough to participate in the 200th OneSight clinic!

Each day on this blog we will be posting highlights from our vision care clinic including stories of our recipients, the team experience and a little about Hermosillo itself. I don’t speak Italian, but I will be asking some of our Italian team members to write a few entries so that their families can share in the experience.  Sara Savio has already volunteered for this first entry (written below).  We land in Hermosillo on Monday, August 29th and will be posting messages and photographs through the last day of the clinic which is on September 10th.  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.  Click here to make your donation to our team today! 

Here's a little background about OneSight and our Global Clinics: 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 8 million people over its 20-year history.

Each year, OneSight conducts two-week clinics where our doctors and trained volunteers provide free eye exams and eyewear to thousands of people in need.  To date, as mentioned before, this will be our 200^th clinic in 37 different countries.  This year, we have 15 clinics planned around the world. For a complete list of Clinic locations, visit www.onesight.org . 

We hope you will have as much following our experience as we will have helping the people of Hermosillo!

Adiós!

 

An Italian blog entry courtesy of Sara Savio:

Tra pochi giorni inizierà questa nuova avventura sotto la luce di OneSight: questa volta si parte per il Messico, in particolare per Hermosillo nello stato di Sonora (nord ovest del Messico). 

Anche questa volta un team di volontari, dottori e optometristi faranno del loro meglio per aiutare la popolazione locale a veder meglio, così da poter svolgere le loro vite in un modo migliore. 

Questo blog proverà a raccontare quello che vivremo nelle prossime 2 settimane, anche se non sarà facile esprimere tutte le nostre emozioni... 

Seguiteci!!!