Fun in the Sun and Ice

Today was our "free day" and we all went in groups to see the sights and in some cases relax. The group I was with went to see the third largest geyser in the world and then head out to go sandboarding. Anyone that knows me is probably a little surprised to hear that, but it was really fun.

Anyway, we headed out to the geysers at about 4 AM and rode the bus to arrive at about 6:15 or so. It was a looooooong bumpy ride, but really great. We arrived at just the right time to see the old and young geysers start blasting off. The place was amazing! We were able to get closer to them than you would ever get in the US. We were actually walking on top of some of the bubbling geysers! Back home, you would be looking at them from a football field away.

Anyway, at one point we were actually standing and letting the steam sweep over us as we stood and just experienced the moment. It was great. It was about -14 C when we got there (rather cold if you ask me), but warmed up steadily while we were there. We also saw some native animals and birds that were pretty cool.

We left the geysers to head back to San Pedro for lunch and to pick up our sandboards. Lunch was really great. Some of us ate at a small place in the middle of town, while others chose to shop and just grad a quick bite. We grabbed the boards and headed into an area that was truly in the middle of nowhere.

We drove out to a spot I would never be able to find again in a million years. The scenery was incredible and the sky was beyond blue. While the sandhill the were climbing was rediculous to climb, it was worth it when we got to the top of the hill. We had an absolute blast going down the hill on the boards and filling our shoes and pants with sand. Some of us managed to plant our faces deep in the sand and are probably still trying to clean sand out of various orifices. It may be months before I get sand out of my various cracks and crevices.


It was more than worth it to climb the hill, eat some sand, and ride on possibly the least comfortable bus in this hemisphere as we saw and experienced things that will stay with us for a lifetime.

I speak for all of us when I say this has been amazing experience and a beautiful land. The people here have opened their hearts to us and have been beyond appreciative. This team has been great. While it is my first mission, I feel like I have done it forever. I can't think of a single person on this team I don't consider my friend and I would open my home to all of you.

Thanks for taking the time to read this blog over the past few weeks. I will update a few more times, so please continue to check if you have the time.

Long Way Home

Today was our last day in clinic. We have a free day Friday and then start our journey home Saturday. It is somewhat bittersweet to have to pack up the clinic. In one way we are all excited to be home and see our friends and family. In another way, we are sad we are unable to continue to see the new friends on the team and the wonderful people we have met here.

It was a great day as far as clinic goes. We were supposed to wrap up around 2 and ended up going until almost 4. The we had a chance to thank the local students, Lions and the army for their generosity and hard work. Everyone that helpedus had a chance to pick out a pair of sunglasses and to pick a donated item from the our homes. It was a great time and I wish we could do more.

I really don´t have any amazing stories right now and I am having issues with posting images. I will try to get more on the blog as soon as possible, but I am not sure what I will be able to do. Access has been limited, so I am sorry for that. I will add more photos when I get home if I can´t do it before.

We have a dinner with the Lions Club this evening that should be pretty great. Then many of us are going to see the local water spouts that are about 2 hours south of here. They are said to be amazing and so far no one has misled us about these things.

I know that many of the volunteers are reading this blog and I want to take a moment to thank them for all of their hard work and huge hearts. You have made us all feel so welcome and been so gracious. We all appreciate the hours and effort you have given to this clinic and the love you have shown to us.

To our family and friends back home... We miss you and can´t wait to see you. To the our family a LUX... thanks for making this possible. Your care and support have made it possible for us to be here while you have been back home. We can´t wait to see you all and share the stories of this amazing experience.

Thanks for reading.

Muu Muu Coup!

So we had our live auction last night. As the fundraising chair, I was able to serve as the auctioneer (a great honor) and had the talents of Anna to serve as the Vanna White of the mission. She strutted her stuff for the traditional items, while I played the channelled Howie Mandell and asked for bids. Anyway, we were able to raise more than $2000 for GOS, but there is much more. I will need to share the pictures, but I will try to tell the story.

One of our teammates (Big Michael as we are calling him) has this habit of wearing a wonderful Muu Muu. It is bright orange and he is quite tall. It makes for a striking combination! Even pictures do not do it justice.

Anyway, his birthday was the other night (he owes me the poem he wrote to post on here!) and he wore this dress. It was one of the funniest things I have seen in a long time as towered over the room in this bright orange dress. He looked about two feet taller that the ladies waiting tables.

He decided to auction off the opportunity to make someone wear the Muu Muu at clinic for a day. Well a mission coup (the Muu Muu Coup) was quickly organized and much money was raised to make Janet, our mission leader, wear the dress. Ahhhhh, but it is not that simple. We are a devious bunch and Michael is quite funny. He and several others (Sheila led the charge) and hatched plan to hide the intent until late in the bidding.

So after the ¨ususal¨ items were acutioned, Michael began to tell a story, I can´t even begin to tell the story the way he told it, but needless to say, it involved buying the 1956 Western Regional Dance Champion´s dress on consignment, wearing to to an LA bar dearing Gay Pride Week(?... I was laughing to hard to be able to catch that part) and entering a bar where he was accosted by a raging Queen that said ¨Nice Dress, where´d ya get it!¨

Michael responded immediately, ¨I will have you know that there is only one Western Regional Dance champion of 1956, and I am wearing her dress,¨ or something to that effect, I told you I couldn´t relay the story. Imagine playing the telephone game, but with 30 drunk, tired maniacs that are laughing until they cry.

Well, needless to say (though I will), the bidding began with Michael taking over the auction. After all, who could follow that story? After several bids came through the bidding was over $400. A surprise came when an annonymous bidder called in a bid of over $500! Well, a shocked crowd was unable to respond before the bidding ended. The ¨anonymous¨ bidder chose to have Janet wear the Muu Muu and she was, of course deeply honored and excited.


A quick thing lass from Hawaii, Dana, proposed that we raise funds to provide the honor to a second individual. A rousing applause was heard as everyone agreed. Everyone except Eric Anderson, who may have had a sneaking suspicion that he would be the one selected to wear the Muu Muu. After a quick vote, he was correct and did indeed for all you back at home, wear the Muu Muu. It showed off his legs smashingly as our British contingent, Becky, would say.

Well, that is all I have for now... I will leave you to wait for pictures of Eric, Janet and Michael in the Muu Muu.

Thanks for reading!

Don´t Stop Believing

We had another great experience today. At clinic we saw more than 3200 patients and it seemed like only 2000. We had so many great experiences that have made the team come together even more than we could have thought. There is not a single person on the team that I am not proud to call my friend and I believe that we all feel the same way.

Today I spent the day in IMS, a station I have been in before. I think many of us returned to places we had been and are now comfortable. We all are getting the hang of it and in many ways are sad to see the end is near. We all pressed hard to day and kept the faith after our wishes from home. They powered us through the exhaustion, both mental and physical and made it possible to deliver the highest single day of the clinic. We have only a half day left and it has been getting harder and harder to find great matches for the patient´s Rx, but we all wish we could help every single person, just like we do back home.

I have a few stories today. One is from my roommate and friend Dr Dave Oebkr. Today he brought a pair of glasses from his home store that was a pretty significant Rx (plus tens). He asked the folks in IMS if they found a match to get him and he would like to be the one to dispense that glasses. A little time passed by and he was called to head up to the dispensing area and fit the glasses for the patient. As the name was called a few people wispered, Oh my gosh, he has no arms! The patient had been in an electrical accident and had lost both of his arms. The man was very excited to get glasses and came boucing up. As Dave sat him down and went to fit the glasses, he realized the man also had no right ear. It had been lost to the accident as well. Dave partnered with several team members (Eric Anderson and a few others) and was able to find a glasses strap to hold the on the man´s head. He was so greatful and the Rx matched almost perfectly. Dave was almost overwhelmed! The man had so much joy in his heart after so much difficulty, he was truly an inspiration.

A second story actually comes from me. The other day, I was working on making glasses with Shawn Deckert, my fellow Target Team Member (he is amazing, by the way) and Eric Anderson (I feel a Target moment coming on) came to me and asked if I could help with a patient. He had Auto-Refracted a woman and her mother. The woman was a MINUS 25! Imagine the world through those eyes. Her mother was a minus 6 and both had no glasses at all. I can´t imagine life in that manner. Well, we worked hard to find a good match and found an almost perfect one for the mother. She was extremely happy and gave me a big hug. For the daughter, 35 years old mind you, we were only able to find a minus 10. Hoping for the best and explaining this was not a perfect match, I put the glasses on her face. I knew immediately it was not what we were hoping for. She shook her head and said ¨No.¨ Our translator told us that she could only make out shapes and light and that it was just very cloudy. After a long talk, we realized this was probably the best we could do. With a very heavy heart, I walked her up the stairs, talking the whole way through the translator. The women told me they were both kindergarten teachers (My sister Meredith taught kindergarten) and that they loved their work and the kids. I knew that it must be next to impossible to work the kids and not be able to see them. Once I walked them out, Eric approached me. He saw how much I had been moved (believe me, it showed) and asked me if I would be willing to sponsor the woman. Very excitedly, I said yes and asked what I needed to do, thinking I would pay $400 or so and get her glasses made. Instead Eric told me Target would donate the money and I would just need to coordinate the process. Shawn Deckert, Kim Wentzel, Meera Dua, Sherrie Henderson and others, I probably don´t even know are working to make this happen and we received an email today, saying the glasses should be ready and on my desk when I get back on the 3rd! It just shows how far the spirit of giving can reach and why I love Luxottica and Target Optical. Thank you to everyone involved and thank you to Eric for asking me to help.

Wow, that was a long and emotional post. With that I will wrap things up other than to say that we all love the folks back home and can´t wait to share the joy we have experience here in Calama. Today one of the volunteers said, ¨Nothing is impossible. We are Chilean and we will make it so. Just believe you can.¨ That is the spirit of the Gift of Sight, the people we are helping and the amazing Team we are a part of.

Thanks for reading.

Candid Camera!

Tonight we received care packages from friends, family, and co-workers. We want you all to know how much it means to get a piece of home here in Calama. We are all very tired and emotionally spent and to get this is such a blessing. It has lifted our spirits and we are so looking forward to driving this clinic home and helping as many people as possible!

I would like to personally say how much it means to me to have the support of my friends and family. You are all great and your support has made this possible. I love you all and can't wait to see you. I am sure everyone here feels the same way about their loved ones so from all of us here, we miss you all and love you!

To all that have not seen there familes for a looooong time, here are some pics from the past few days. Enjoy.

Memories

Today we wanted to share an amazing experience from clinic. One of the docs, Alan Levy from NY, has lost his father in the past year. He has been wearing his father´s flanel shirt to honor his memory. His father believed strongly in the importance of giving back, so he felt that this mission was the perfect place to ¨give the shirt off his back.¨

Alan has been working the Penthouse clinic which is the area above the main floor of the clinic for patients that are unable to climb the stairs or have other issues that would keep them from going through the lines. He encountered a woman with a rather severe Rx that had no legs. He happened to have in his pocket one of his patient´s glasses. The patient had heard of his mission work and wanted to make sure someone was able to use them.

As he gave her the glasses he became very emotional. The woman was extremely greatful and was trying to console him as he started to break down. He then looked at her husband and realized that this was THE opportunity to truly honor his father and gave him the shirt. Through an interpreter, he shared the story of his father and what this meant to him. The man was very appreciative and several patients came to console him. It was very moving.

Several hours later, the man returned with a gift of fruit. An experience that can´t happen anywhere else.

Thanks for reading and we´ll try to post more later.

Open Your Hearts and Your Wallets

Hello everyone.

Just a quick update after our silent auction. We were able to raise $1787 tonight and almost everyone came away with a memory to bring home. For those that don´t know, each mission has a silent auction where team members bring items from home to auction off during the mission. In addition, people purchase items in country that have special meaning to the team. Some amazing things were included tonight such as custom crafted jewelry, sunglasses, shirts and hats.

We will have a live auction tomorrow to really bring it home. This team is so generous and so giving, it is amazing. There are some special items for the live auction including an autographed flag.

We are having some issues with getting photos uploaded, but we will make sure to get as many as possible on in the morning.

I want to thank my friend Johanna for updating the blog tonight. She did a great job while I was coordinating the silent auction.