Dr Wolfgang and patient from Burma It’s the last day of February, and we have just completed the Eye Camp. And what a success it was! I had a good deal of trepidation going into it, as we had no idea how many patients would show up, thus no way to gauge how much medicine to buy. And talk about mis-communication and misunderstanding – I was fit to be tied in the days leading up to our start date. But then Dr Wolfgang Hasselkus and his friend Johann arrived and the pace picked up. Dr Wolfgang has a family practice in Germany, but has been coming to the Border for over 30 years. For many years now he has been holding Eye Camps, where he cares for the visually disabled from inside Burma, concentrating on operations to address cataracts and glaucoma. The doctor and I hit it off straight away and he came to rely on me to take care of technical and organizational matters. We held the Eye Camp in a large building in the next village and the first item of business was to create an operating theater using drapes for the walls and ceiling. After Registration, the patients would have their vision tested with a locally adapted Snellen chart. Then it was on to the IOP test, (Intra-Ocular Pressure) and then examination by the doctor, who decided if the patient required a cataract operation, an operation to address glaucoma or simply spectacles. My role was to check in on each department, making sure they had what they needed, lend a hand where necessary and generally keep things running smoothly, so Dr Wolfgang could concentrate on his operations. Despite my earlier reservations, everything worked extremely well.
We registered 230 patients in five and a half days, 40 of whom were operated on and 150 of whom got spectacles. The spectacle workshop was one of the highlights for me. Johann was in charge and he brought about 250 pairs of used spectacles from Germany. These were no longer wanted by their former owners, because they needed stronger lenses or just fancied more fashionable frames. The only way to fit patients needing glasses to a pile of existing glasses is to have them try on pair after pair, until we could locate the best five out of twenty, then pick the best pair of all. Not a high tech approach, but most patients were happy with their new spectacles. If the patient had significant disparity of vision between the right and left eyes, then we did Refraction, which identifies the strength of lens required for each eye. Johann had brought many empty frames and also new lenses, purchased in Thailand. He then proceeded to train local people to administer the Refraction test, trim down the correct lenses and fit them to the frames chosen by the patient. This was a very successful part of the Eye Camp, and we hope that the newly trained folks will be able to continue to supply custom eye glasses to the local people. Dr Wolfgang donated the Refraction tool and has offered to keep them supplied with lenses and frames.
All in all, the Eye Camp was a great success, and my participation in it was the most satisfying work I have done here, so far. It has bucked my spirits up considerably. Dr Wolfgang has asked me to join him again next year and to help develop a portable power set-up, that would allow him to push further inside Burma. He has a clinic just over the border from Mae Sot, but he would like to extend eye care to the poorest, most remote villages in eastern Burma. It’s wonderful work, and I hope I can help him in the future.
Nawpawlulu
Although being completely involved with the Eye Clinic, Napawlulu has just accepted a 16-month old child who is HIV positive and also has TB. Medicine for both conditions will be provided by the Thai-Burma Border Consortium.
My Projects
My 1” black poly pipe finally arrived from Bangkok, but through the good offices of a friend rather than the lame hardware store in town! This week I am off to Whispering Seed to help with a rainwater catchment system and design the future PV expansion.
We registered 230 patients in five and a half days, 40 of whom were operated on and 150 of whom got spectacles. The spectacle workshop was one of the highlights for me. Johann was in charge and he brought about 250 pairs of used spectacles from Germany. These were no longer wanted by their former owners, because they needed stronger lenses or just fancied more fashionable frames. The only way to fit patients needing glasses to a pile of existing glasses is to have them try on pair after pair, until we could locate the best five out of twenty, then pick the best pair of all. Not a high tech approach, but most patients were happy with their new spectacles. If the patient had significant disparity of vision between the right and left eyes, then we did Refraction, which identifies the strength of lens required for each eye. Johann had brought many empty frames and also new lenses, purchased in Thailand. He then proceeded to train local people to administer the Refraction test, trim down the correct lenses and fit them to the frames chosen by the patient. This was a very successful part of the Eye Camp, and we hope that the newly trained folks will be able to continue to supply custom eye glasses to the local people. Dr Wolfgang donated the Refraction tool and has offered to keep them supplied with lenses and frames.
All in all, the Eye Camp was a great success, and my participation in it was the most satisfying work I have done here, so far. It has bucked my spirits up considerably. Dr Wolfgang has asked me to join him again next year and to help develop a portable power set-up, that would allow him to push further inside Burma. He has a clinic just over the border from Mae Sot, but he would like to extend eye care to the poorest, most remote villages in eastern Burma. It’s wonderful work, and I hope I can help him in the future.
Nawpawlulu
Although being completely involved with the Eye Clinic, Napawlulu has just accepted a 16-month old child who is HIV positive and also has TB. Medicine for both conditions will be provided by the Thai-Burma Border Consortium.
My Projects
My 1” black poly pipe finally arrived from Bangkok, but through the good offices of a friend rather than the lame hardware store in town! This week I am off to Whispering Seed to help with a rainwater catchment system and design the future PV expansion.
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