Santo Domingo --> Moca

Our first city on the list to provide primary eye care was to Moca. It was about a 2 ½ hour drive from Santo Domingo, in which we had a driver to took us.

Just on this first day we were able to see about 200 patients!! I was shocked when the Doctor told us about this because time just flew by. We were so happy!! I have worked at a private practice back in Florida, and we usually see about 10-15 patients a day and that is considered to be a busy day, but 200!!! This was definitely unheard of! It was such a great feeling knowing that we were able to help out so many people. It got me thinking, that if we were to do this everyday for at least a week, we could help on average of about 1400 people. Something as little as a week, can make such a drastic difference in a city. We were all determined to do it. 

One of the best things about this was the fact that the patients were super grateful. Some of these people didn’t have much in terms of food and shelter, but once they got their glasses and when they were talking to us, they were all so grateful and happy that they will now be able to see better. I would have thought they would be snobby because they didn’t have anything, and then looking at us, they would envy us or wouldn’t relate to us because we were so different. Instead, we were getting welcomed with hugs, and they opened up to us. The amount of stories were unreal, but that’s the difference between working in a hustle and bustle city compared to small, less fortunate area. I know these patients won’t take advantage of the situation and would be happy to get anything. From this we were able to so many patients and didn't notice the time. We enjoyed doing everything and helping the doctors with refractions to ensure they got the best treatment.

At first, it made me really sad to see young people getting cataracts when they are known to develop from 50+, but then it got me thinking. There’s nothing we can do now about it, but to help them. Yes its bad that they have this, but now we are able to help them out because we are here. The young people that we did help out could now benefit and hopefully the trend will continue.

The doctor that we worked with, Dr. Evelyn, was definitely one of the kindest souls ever. None of this could have been possible without her. She gave us the opportunity to help out all of these patients. She is an ophthalmologist, and in her spare time, she travels to different cities over the weekends and provides eye exams and refractions to people for free. SHE IS THE REAL DOCTOR GOALS. Her passion for optometry is so big and real, that anybody who is around her gets to feel that strong passionate vibe that she gives off.

            All of this happened just on day one… imagine how we felt at the end of the trip.