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Guyana holds the dubious distinction of being the poorest nation in South America and the second poorest nation in the western hemisphere. Only Haiti ranks lower. The average per capita income is in the neighborhood of $400/year. A corrupt Marxist regime paralyzed this nation of 2 million for nearly 25 years. It is only now undergoing limited modernization.
The team consisted of Dr. Harry Easom, Dr. John Haines, Dr. Phillip Richie, Jody Arcularius, and Lana Hobbs. In preparation for the arrival of the team, volunteers traveled to Kukuvar, a remote village in central Guyana to perform initial screenings.
Standing on a hilltop in this mid jungle village, one could see Brazil off in the distance. The local natives, Amerind indians, provided housing for us in a local church. The volunteers brought cots for us to sleep on, and we brought a generator for lighting during surgery.
This was the most primitive of eye missions to date. We bathed in local streams, took malaria pills, and ate C-Rations cooked over a campfire.
We trekked ten kilometers to reach a more remote village called Kato. Six additional cataracts were operated on without the benefit of electricity, as the generator could not be carried over the mountainous terrain. Nevertheless, all cases were performed successfully and the team was then removed by sea-plane to the capital of Georgetown.
There where 450 people awaiting surgery in Georgetown. Unfortunately, we only had the equipment for 55 cases, so sub-screening of this needy group was carried out. This was one of the most difficult tasks that we have ever performed. They all needed surgery but we had to limit care to those who were impaired to the point of perception of light only. If they could count fingers in front of their face, they were de-selected. The team then fiercely set about to remove all 55 hyper-mature cataracts over the course of two days.
Dr. George Norton, a local Cuba-trained ophthalmologist, assisted and was trained in intraocular lens implantion. He was very excited about increased level of care he could now provide. All patients did extremely well and the team left satisfied that both the 6 patients in the remote jungle and the 55 in Georgetown had their sight restored.
Arrangements were made so future teams would be recruited by Surgical Eye Expeditions (SEE) to follow-up on the 400 plus individuals that had been turned away at our screening.
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