ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Eye care is important in all parts of the world and recently, local optometrist Dr. Liz Fieser from Prairie Vista & Optical took part in a mission trip to help with just that to Roatán, Honduras.
“We had more than 200 used pairs of glasses donated from our patients, and these glasses were given a second life with citizens of Roatán. The organization that headed everything up was SVOSH, which stands for Student Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity, and the optometry school in charge of that group is Northeastern State University Oklahoma College of Optometry (NSUOCO) in Tahlequah, Okla., which is actually where I went to school along with Dr. [Ryan] Farrar,” Fieser said. “The group has actually been doing these mission trips for about 14 years, and the only break they took was in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic. How I got involved was, there were three doctors who were scheduled to be part of the group but ultimately had to back out of the trip, so the organizer at the college put a post on Facebook about looking for volunteer doctors, and I jumped on it. I also got to take my boys, James and Josiah, which was amazing. I've always wanted to do a mission trip like this, but the opportunity/timing just never came up until now. I remember when I interviewed with Dr. Farrar, I told him a goal of mine was to do a mission trip like this. And the optometry school also brought several pairs too, almost 700, and they were all really great brands.”
“And she spent this summer collecting used glasses, which we typically donate to the Lions Club and sometimes other groups,” Farrar said. “We had requests for used glasses, and it wasn't just the frames that were used, but the lenses and everything else, and she catalogued more than 200 pairs that had been donated to our office from our patients. I don't know what we were expecting, necessarily, but there was a great response and people were more than happy to help give their glasses a second life.”
Fieser said she and her group were definitely kept busy throughout the six-day trip.
“We saw 571 patients during the trip, and that included four days of clinics that lasted from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. We were really happy to be able to help that many people,” Fieser said. “We had six stations set up for the patients to go through, and we'd take a little history, and then the patients would go through the stations for eye muscle movement, vision field, eye care tonometer, and a few others, so it was pretty thorough. We saw a mix of adults and children, we had a lot of parents bringing in their children for testing and a lot of times, they ended up getting tested too. Our youngest patient was about 3 years old and then our oldest patient was 85 years old. The issues among everyone varied, but when I was helping take history, there were a lot of patients complaining about itchy/watery eyes and generally blurry vision that was being caused by some other underlying issue(s) – you would be surprised how poorly these people were seeing, it was extremely rare for a patient to come to us with 20/20 vision in both eyes. A lot of people couldn't even read the chart, but they were able to walk around and get around. There were also several uncontrolled glaucoma cases we saw, diabetes cases, and several eye injuries that had been untreated for a long time.”
Fieser added the group also had a little local help spreading the word about their assistance.
“One of the ladies in the group gave an interview with some local news there on our first day, so people knew we were going to be on hand,” Fieser said. “We ended up having about 80 patients the first day, more than 90 the next day, and then almost 200 the other two days. There were a few times where we were seeing patients beyond our scheduled time, but we're all well used to that, so it wasn't a huge deal.”
However, Fieser admitted, there were challenges that came up.
“Setting up the equipment was a big challenge because there's a certain way you're used to doing things in your own space, and if you're not comfortable in a space, you won't be comfortable doing the exam, and that's not good,” Fieser said. “There were multiple adjustments we had to make so everyone was actually able to use everything, whether it was using a different table or finding a different chair for a patient. And the overall environment was also a factor because we weren't able to adjust the lighting in the exam rooms since the entire area was open-air. There were also multiple times when the electricity went out, and the electrical grid there is an absolute mess. A main draw of our hotel was the fact that it had its own generator, and there was one evening where it seemed like everyone was coming to the hotel for dinner, and it took us a bit to realize it was because they didn't have power to do anything at home.”
Fieser said everyone felt proud to be able to help so many people and give so many pairs of glasses new owners.
“We all felt really glad to be able to help everyone we did, and we were all definitely grateful for what we're able to do here in the U.S. as far as living conditions and medical care and everything else,” Fieser said. “Roatán is a very poor island, so a lot of people can't afford prescription glasses – I would ask a patient 'Have you ever worn glasses?' whether they were a prescription or reading glasses from the store, and the majority of the responses were along the lines of 'No, they're too expensive.' The ones who really needed glasses who didn't have them before we came were beyond grateful for our help and for the fact we had what they needed. However, my sons and a couple of the students told me there were a few people who found their prescription, but it wasn't in a frame/style they liked, so they acted like it was a waste of time, which my older son especially didn’t like. Giving away the glasses is just a great way to contribute, and we also gave away a lot of eye drops and glaucoma medicine, which a lot of the patients were also grateful for. I was glad to collect all those glasses that weren't otherwise being used and help give them a new owner that needed that help. And I had a woman actually mail her old glasses to me so they could be donated. There are some of our patients who have a really rare prescription, and I asked them if they had any old glasses they didn't want anymore, and this lady said 'When I get my new glasses, you can have these old ones.' She ended up moving to another town and it was about three days before I left on this trip when I got a package from her containing her glasses, which really touched me.”
“And a lot of our patients who donated were VERY excited to know their glasses would be hand-delivered to someone who really needed them all the way in that part of the world,” Farrar said. “I even had someone e-mail me recently asking 'Is it too late to donate to that project?' and I had to tell this person 'For this time around, yes, but we will be taking donations for a future project later on.'”
Fieser said there were many aspects of the trip that were very enjoyable, especially the chance to spend the time with her sons.
“The work part was obviously great, and I was happy to be part of that, but I would say probably my favorite part was being able to go snorkeling with my boys, because I've never been anywhere where there was that much to see underwater, and it was just amazing to take all of that in,” Fieser said. “I would definitely like to do a trip like this again, whether it's to the Honduras again or another country that needs this kind of help. I was also glad I got to take my sons with me – Josiah was just super excited about everything, almost bouncing off the walls, but he calmed down when we actually got there, and James also seemed to have a good time with everything. I’m hoping the boys especially appreciated seeing another culture and seeing how other people live, and they both had a good time. With James, whenever I asked him about something, his go-to response was 'It was cool,' but Josiah fully threw himself into everything and was super enthusiastic about it all. Particularly when we were on the bus and were witnessing the daily traffic, Josiah said 'Man, you can do anything in traffic here!' We also had two days where we got to do some exploring, and we got to go ziplining and see some other beaches, and we also got to see a bunch of cool animals. There was a preserve where we got to see parrots, and everyone got at least one selfie with one of the monkeys, all of whom were very active. I had an amazing time on this trip, and I would absolutely do a trip like this again, whether it’s a return to Roatán or some other country that needs this type of help.”
