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Team members were Dr. John Haines, Cheri VanBebber, Jodi Arcularis, Kim Smith, and Stacey Tripeny.
This trip was the most gratifying of all trips. We were post September 11th. We considered not going, but all agreed that this would not only be good for us, but for our country. The people of Thailand greeted us with such open arms. We felt very secure.
Our first camp was in the Province of Burilam and our second was Mae Ai-. Each patient was screened before surgery. The hospitals were very simple, as were the operating rooms. The two operating rooms would accommodate two surgery cases at a time. Our instruments were sterilized in the rooms as we worked. Our team learned how to become more frugal with our surgical supplies after watching the Thailand team.
In both of our eye camps the patients would wait outside the operating room in a hallway. There faces were paralyzed from the anesthetic blocks. Each of them holding their own paper work and smiling their toothless smiles, waiting for the next physician to operate on them. Their eyes were white from the cataracts and their bare feet were so deformed and callused from not wearing shoes.
On the day after surgery it was so exciting to see their smiles. Some of them were seeing their family members or walking on their own for the first time in years. One Monk said he was unable to see to walk or take care of himself before surgery - he walked in that day on his own smiling, from ear to ear. The smiles and faces in both camps were unforgettable.
Dr. Haines and Dr. Somsran gave so much of themselves, so these patients could see and be apart of their working communities again. It was a wonderful experience for all the members of our team. I thank Dr. Haines with all my heart for allowing me to participate in such a wonderful experience and helping me become a much better person.
By Kim Smith
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