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Clinic Blog: Mexico 2 Clinic Blog
September 8, 2010
Toluca Mexico – Day 3 Clinic
By msigg
Today we were able to help 1,113 people, we made 25+ referrals, and custom-made 39 chabellas.
We were able to help a young girl today who, despite never having glasses, was doing well in school. She need to sit in the front of the class, but still had trouble seeing. When her glasses were dispensed, her mother indicated the thing she was most looking forward to for her daughter was for her to excel even more in school now that she could see clearly.
Mike was able to dispense to a woman (Maria) who tested with a significant correction during auto-refraction. Maria was 40, with 6 children at home whom she had never been able to see from a distance. She had traveled 2 hours to the clinic with a group. She was very happy when he put the glasses on her for the first time – they were chabellas that were custom-made on site for her. When we asked what she was most looking forward to, she said seeing her children and being able to sew and create needle-point / cross-stitch projects more easily.
We are fortunate to have many great volunteers – Doctors from Devlyn Opticas, translators from several local schools, and other volunteers from the surrounding community. More information will come in future posts about our volunteers who help to make our clinic possible.
Today’s Wikipedia Toluca Facts: The place to be is the Portales downtown, then you are in walking distance of many interesting parks, gardens, museums, churches, theatres, stores, restaurants, hotels and government offices. On the southwest corner of town by ITESM (Tec de Monterrey) is the Centro Cultural Mexiquense with an anthropology museum, folk arts museum, modern arts museum, and library. UAEM (state university) related events and centers and located all over the city, though most are located in the Ciudad Universitaria and stadium on the west side.
Please remember to click on today’s clinic title to see the pictures from today and post a comment!
September 7, 2010
Toluca Mexico – Day 2 Clinic
By msigg
Today was our second day of clinic. We were able to help 901 people, we made 39 medical referrals for additional care, and we made 13 chabellas.
Chabellas are glasses that are made on-site to perfectly match a recipient’s prescription. We bring hundreds of frames that are the same size/shape as well as over 1,000 lenses of varying strength. The target recipient for a chebella is someone whose prescription falls outside of the acceptable limits of what we have in inventory.
We saw several great stories as there were more recipients with strong prescriptions today.
Randy & Todd, two of our doctors, saw a woman who was 12-14 diopters myopic (near-sighted) never having had glasses. She could essentially not see clearly past 4 inches in front of her face. When they dispensed the glasses the woman’s face immediately lit up – she was so happy that she would be able to see her grandchildren for the first time! Several people on our team were able to spend some time asking her questions. Raul, one of our team members who is able to also act as a translator, was translating for a while. Due to the intensity of the situation and the overwhelming emotions (brought about by the amazing story about how she would be able to enjoy her grandchildren and everyone else in her life) he had to step away and bring in another translator.
Carol and Mike were able to dispense a pair of high minus glasses (-9) to a woman in her 60s who had also never had glasses. She was immediately able to see more clearly and ‘passed’ the eye chart. Unfortunately her bus was leaving before we could capture more of her story – but her life will be changed forever now that she can see!
These are just some of the reasons why OneSight develops partnerships across the globe and supports 30-40 clinics each year – so we can help the world see more clearly.
Today's Wikipedia Toluca Facts: Toluca is one of the most industrialized and prosperous cities in Mexico – there are many factories, hospitals, universities, athletic events, and cultural venues. Toluca has the best taxi system in the world: over 5,000 taxis for a city of about half a million. Just walk to any major street and wave at a passing taxi.
Remember to click on today’s title (“Toluca Mexico – Day 2 Clinic”) in order to see some of the pictures from today.
September 6, 2010
Toluca Mexico - Day 1 Clinic
By msigg
Day 1 started at 6:30 with breakfast. We then went to the clinic location - a large convention center - to continue setting up the clinic stations. We then went through each station in small groups and were trained at each station.
We were all surprised to be invited to an 'Opening Ceremonies' with many local government officials as well as leaders from Rotary & Devlyn Opticas. Several people spoke to a crowd of over 100 locals as well as our team. Although we could not undersand much of what was being said - the message was clear. They were all very appreciative of our time and efforts and greatful that we were spending 2 weeks in their country helping many people in need.
We were able to help 323 people today! This will probably end up being the day we see the least amount of people since it was only 1/2 day. Our highest volume day is scheduled to be over 1,500 people.
Several stories that stood out:
Our doctors told us about a woman who came in with a pair of glasses (-14). She could not drive because she couldn't see and only wanted to be able to drive again. They read her new prescription at -19, and we were able to find a pair for her that allowed her to see much more clearly!
One patient, Marcelina, had a very old pair of glasses with a -19 prescription. The glasses were being held together in several places by tape and, as it turns out, were too powerful for what she needed. We were able to find a pair of glasses with a -16 reading. When we asked her to try them on her face lit up and she immediately indicated that she could see much better.
All of the patients were so thankful for our services. Even several who were not able to receive glasses due to other eye issues that needed to be resolved before glasses could help them thanked us when they were given the news.
Today's Wikipedia Toluca Facts: Toluca is the state capital of Mexico State. The most famous food dish is a type of sausage called chorizo which is made from ground pork prepared with a sauce made of tomatoes, pumpkin mole, and other spices like salt, pepper, white wine, almonds, potatoes, vinegar, garlic and chile.
We hope to be able to share more pictures as the clinic progresses - but the internet connection is slow and it has been difficult to upload. You can see the pictures uploaded today by clicking on today's blog title ("Toluca Mexico - Day 1 Clinic").
September 6, 2010
We have arrived in Toluca
By msigg
Buenas Noches!
After a long day of travel we have all arrived in Toluca. Most of the North American team met in Houston and traveled together to Mexico City, where we met the rest of the team members from across the globe.
We had a 1 ½ hour bus ride from the airport to our hotel. Ernesto & Ernie – from the local Rotary International – gave us a warm welcome and let us all know that our local partners have been hard at work for the last several months preparing for our clinic. We are fortunate to have great partners in country – Devlyn Opticas & Rotary International.
Today’s Toluca Facts: Established in 1530 as a settlement Hernan Cortez; at this altitude, Toluca has a year-round cool climate (our time here will be around 68F/20C as a high).
Click on today’s title to see a couple pictures from our journey here.
More to come tomorrow…it has been a long day for all of us here!
August 23, 2010
OneSight Toluca, Mexico Clinic - September 2010
By msigg
Hola amigos, familiares, compañeros de trabajo, y donantes! Bienvenido a nuestro blog.
Hello family, friends, co-workers, & donors! Welcome to our blog.
Welcome to the OneSight Toluca, Mexico 2010 Clinic blog page. Our team of 36 volunteers & doctors from Italy, Brazil, the Netherlands, South Africa, Canada, & the United States will be spending 2 weeks in Toluca, Mexico providing complete eye exams as well as new and recycled eyeglasses to thousands of locals who could not otherwise afford to see clearly.
The team will be together in Toluca from Sunday, Sept 5 - Friday, Sept 17. Check back here daily, beginning on Monday (Sept 6th), for great stories and highlights of our Clinic. By clicking on the daily blog title (today's is 'OneSight Toluca, Mexico Clinic - September 2010') you will be able to post/see comments as well as view our pictures. Please add comments throughout our time here - they will be shared with the team members daily and are often a much needed source of encouragement from those loved ones we won't be seeing for several weeks.
If you are interested in helping our team raise funds for our clinic, please visit our Team Fundraising Page.
We are all extremely excited to take part in this life-changing (for us as well as the recipients we will be helping) experience. Thank you for following us on this journey.
Today's Toluca Facts: Location - approx 40 miles (63 km) southwest of Mexico City. Population - 467,713 in the city; total municipal population 747,512. Elevation - 8,750 ft (2,667 m). Time Zone - Central Standard (1 hour behind EST); currently GMT -5:00 hours. Each blog post will include new facts about Toluca's history, economy, food, sports, climate, and more!
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.
Each year, OneSight conducts two-week clinics in developing countries where our doctors and trained volunteers provide free eye exams and recycled eyewear to thousands of people in need. To date, we’ve run 175 clinics in 35 different developing countries. This year, we have planned 15 clinics in developing countries around the world. For more information regarding OneSight, visit www.onesight.org.
About the Clinic
Mexico 2 Clinic Blog Clinic
Our team of 40 volunteers and doctors from around the world will spend two weeks in Mexico providing free eye care and eyewear to thousands of people who could not otherwise afford to see the world clearly.