Reflecting and Rejoicing
So its been 3 months since my last post....and I am staring at the computer wondering what to write. I'm going to be honest, the reason I have been hesitant to post is because I just don't know what to say. God is doing amazing things down here through our organization, but I don't feel like I should be taking any credit or praise because sometimes life here is just hard. And sometimes I am selfish, and I miss my comforts of the US. And sometimes (many times) God works in spite of me. Thank goodness God is a loving, merciful God. But as time passes and we settle into a routine, it is starting to feel more normal, more like home. There are so many times that Jeromee and I have to say to each other, that's just the way it is down here. But we are accepting it more and more. Thankfully, the kids have just fallen right into normal life. They have best friends, they have sports, and they love living here. For that, I am so grateful.
On to what we have been doing the past couple months. I have been busy, busy in clinic seeing the worst of the worst glaucoma and diabetes damage. Many days in clinic are exhausting after I have told the 10th person that nothing that I or any other human can do will make them see again. Sadly, preventative care is not something common here, so the majority of people show up when it is far too late. However, we are able to still work miracles in taking out cataracts. We had 2 teams from the US come down to operate, and I have also been operating with my Jamaican team, and over 200 people have gotten cataract surgery! Those are the ones that we rejoice with because they really do go from blind to seeing. Spring is looking to be very busy with 3 teams coming down in a matter of 4 months, so it will be wonderful to make it through the backlog of patients. The best part of my day is talking to a sweet, old lady who has been on the list to have her cataract done by the public hospital for 3 or more years, and I get to say "we can do your cataract next month, guaranteed."
I have also been taking growths (pterygiums) off of eyes almost weekly and seeing wonderful transformation. Most recently, I had a patient who came from Trinidad. He had a trauma years ago and the growth was literally all the way across his eye. He couldn't see out of the eye at all. When I took the patch off the next day, he was astonished that he could see.
Another gentleman also had terrible growths across both eyes and was blind and now can see. I am so grateful for the people we can help and getting to rejoice with them.
As the Holidays and the end of the year approach, I am going to throw out a shameless plug. We are very blessed to be able to be here without needing to depend on support from others. The company generates enough money to support us. However, we still have huge student loans. Thankfully, a company called MedSend exists that supports Christian missionaries by covering their student loan payments while they are serving overseas. We are receiving a grant from them which covers ALL of my student loan payments while we are here. We are so grateful to MedSend for their very generous support. If you would like to support the organization, you can click on the link on the left side of the page.
Also, it costs our company several hundred dollars in supplies for each cataract surgery we perform. Many patients are able to cover the cost, but there are also those that we operate on for free because they just don't have anything. If you would like to support our organization and help fund free cataract surgery for Jamaicans, you can make a donation to Mission of Sight (link also to the left).
Thank you to all our wonderful friends and family who are supporting us emotionally and prayerfully and providing hospitality during our trips back to the US. We love all of you and pray that this Christmas season is a time of refreshment for your family.
Eileen
On to what we have been doing the past couple months. I have been busy, busy in clinic seeing the worst of the worst glaucoma and diabetes damage. Many days in clinic are exhausting after I have told the 10th person that nothing that I or any other human can do will make them see again. Sadly, preventative care is not something common here, so the majority of people show up when it is far too late. However, we are able to still work miracles in taking out cataracts. We had 2 teams from the US come down to operate, and I have also been operating with my Jamaican team, and over 200 people have gotten cataract surgery! Those are the ones that we rejoice with because they really do go from blind to seeing. Spring is looking to be very busy with 3 teams coming down in a matter of 4 months, so it will be wonderful to make it through the backlog of patients. The best part of my day is talking to a sweet, old lady who has been on the list to have her cataract done by the public hospital for 3 or more years, and I get to say "we can do your cataract next month, guaranteed."
I have also been taking growths (pterygiums) off of eyes almost weekly and seeing wonderful transformation. Most recently, I had a patient who came from Trinidad. He had a trauma years ago and the growth was literally all the way across his eye. He couldn't see out of the eye at all. When I took the patch off the next day, he was astonished that he could see.
Another gentleman also had terrible growths across both eyes and was blind and now can see. I am so grateful for the people we can help and getting to rejoice with them.
As the Holidays and the end of the year approach, I am going to throw out a shameless plug. We are very blessed to be able to be here without needing to depend on support from others. The company generates enough money to support us. However, we still have huge student loans. Thankfully, a company called MedSend exists that supports Christian missionaries by covering their student loan payments while they are serving overseas. We are receiving a grant from them which covers ALL of my student loan payments while we are here. We are so grateful to MedSend for their very generous support. If you would like to support the organization, you can click on the link on the left side of the page.
Also, it costs our company several hundred dollars in supplies for each cataract surgery we perform. Many patients are able to cover the cost, but there are also those that we operate on for free because they just don't have anything. If you would like to support our organization and help fund free cataract surgery for Jamaicans, you can make a donation to Mission of Sight (link also to the left).
Thank you to all our wonderful friends and family who are supporting us emotionally and prayerfully and providing hospitality during our trips back to the US. We love all of you and pray that this Christmas season is a time of refreshment for your family.
Eileen
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