20/20 (1.0)

On thursday, Jan. 7, the team separated and did different things. Mary and I went to the clinic to do some eye screenings. Having brought only the most basic equipment, we were limited in what we could do. I was only trying to discern which children needed further evaluation. As the day went along, I realized that none of the kids wore glasses. Having spent time in their homes and school and watching them interact and understand how they use their eyes, I understood why I got the results that I did on the eye tests. Most of the kids had very slight far-sightedness or near-sightedness; only a handful of children had moderate prescriptions that might need correction. However, because these children live in an isolated community with small classrooms and very little television time and no computer in the homes, most of their eyes were fine. They did just get some computers donated so it will be interesting to see whether there will be a shift to near-sightedness in the future. Aside from this, there were a few cases of eye muscle abnormalities related to the conditions the children had. Unfortunately, all those would require surgery in the future.

At first, I was uncertain about doing eye tests on children because in the states it takes a lot of effort to keep the attention of the children. Many throw tantrums while examining. Then, to add children that have disabilities would be even more difficult. Thank God that this was not the case. The children were incredibly cooperative and pleasant. One child with hydrocephalus and could hardly sit up because of the size of his head was my best patient. Not only did he sit thru the testing without fuzzing but he was so cute. When he saw the lights shining into his eye, he called them “tai yang deng” (sun light). The way these children behave speaks volumes on how well they are being raised despite their disabilities and history.

In the end, the children had a great time. They felt like it was a field trip even though it was in the same compound. When we went back to visit the children in the houses, they would recall how I shone lights into their eyes. Children without the stimulation of massive amounts of toys and games will appreciate the simplest of things and each other.

Jose