Eye Team Restores Sight
In the early hours of the morning, a line started to form in Lomé, Togo. The Mercy Ships Eye Team would soon arrive to screen people for cataracts, pterygium (a non-cancerous growth on the white part of the eye), and other eye conditions. By the time the team’s Land Rovers pulled up to the site, hundreds of people were waiting to be seen. This is a typical eye screening.
During the 2012 Togo Field Service, Mercy Ships went to many different sites. One site was a UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) camp. The camp has 3,000 refugees from the Ivory Coast. Many resources are available to the refugees through United Nations – crops to supplement their diet, cleaning, general care, social activities, and help in starting small businesses.
One of the resources they do not have on-site is an eye clinic. So, Mercy Ships gladly accepted an invitation to go to the camp to screen for cataracts and other eye conditions.
People were directed through several screening stations. First, they were pre-screened for the presence of cataracts and other conditions. Potential patients received a number, while others received educational information about eye care. If a person requested prayer, that was definitely available. Next, as the patient’s numbers were called, the team took visual readings to identify patients requiring surgery and patients needing to be fitted for glasses.
Patients with very poor vision were brought to an eye technician to evaluate the cataracts. If a cataract was mature enough to operate on, the patient was scheduled for a secondary screening.
The eye team took excellent care of their surgical patients as they surrounded them with encouragement, comfort, and education through six weeks of recovery. On their last appointment, a Celebration of Sight was held. Mercy Ships crew members, Togolese day-workers, and patients gathered outside the tent on the dock next to the Africa Mercy for a time of singing and dancing.
It was a wonderful time of praise for restored sight. And, as the patients left the docks, it was incredible to see them walking alone down the road, no longer needing someone to guide their steps. They had completed an amazing journey to restoration of sight, hope and freedom.
During the 2012 Togo Field Service, the Mercy Ships Eye Team removed over 650 cataracts and performed over 100 other eye surgeries. They performed over 3,000 eye evaluations and treatments and distributed over 2,500 UV-blocking sunglasses, reading glasses, and prescription glasses to the Togolese people.
In addition, all fourteen of the day-workers received mentoring for their particular roles on the eye team. Dr. Wodome, a Togolese eye surgeon, mentored three West African eye surgeons. Dr. Wodome believes the Mercy Ships field service is a launching point for Togo to continue with great success, and he dreams that “together, we can conquer blindness.”