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The Oregon team included John Haines, Jodi Arcularuis, John Dodd, Lisa Duiker, Paul Haines and Morgan Rousch.
Our first destination was Mae Ai, on the Laotian border. We were housed in a Buddhist monastery, as no hotels existed in this rural part of the country. Patient screening had preceded our arrival, allowing the team to start performing surgeries immediately. Our Thai hosts Dr. Somsran and Dr. Tippapan worked tirelessly along side the American team to complete 113 sight-restoring surgeries. In many cases, loved ones were seeing one another's faces for the first time in decades. An auditorium of delighted faces lifted our spirits and diminished our fatigue.
The following morning we departed for Takua Pa, in southern thailand, near the island of Phuket. A host ophthalmologist, Dr. Chalerchai, met us at the airport. A dinner with local dignitaries introduced our palates to strange, yet delightful delicacies. Most western restaurants back home do not allow you the opportunity to sample congealed blood or geese feet.
The next day three local ophthalmologists joined us. The local doctors assisted in eighty-four cases and became proficient in modern small incision cataract surgery with implantation of foldable implants. With this new training, the surgeons could now expect better outcomes for their many patients. Patients lead by the hand a few hours earlier where now able to walk out on their own.
Thailand is known as “the land of smiles”, and nowhere was it more evident. Having surgery not only changed their vision, it improved their quality of life. Seeing eyes provide working hands for villages and families.
The hard work and dedication of all involved was an uplifting spiritual experience.
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