Peruvian Fisherman and Popular Shaman Given the Gift of Sight
Dr. Thomas Melgar, from Western Michigan University’s Homer Stryker School of Medicine, traveled with eight other physicians and four medical students to a remote area of Loreto, Peru. Partnering with Amazon Promise, a non-profit organization that focuses on the health of North Peru, the group was able to bring 688 readers, sunglasses and prescription glasses to locals in need. National Vision helped by donating 300 readers.
During the nearly three-week mission trip, Dr. Melgar and his team encountered patients that primarily work out in the sun and dust. As a result, pterygium is very common. Pterygium is a noncancerous growth that starts on the clear tissue of the eye and can spread to the cornea.
Dr. Melgar explained, “We brought all the sunglasses we had, which amounted to only 130. So, we had to limit the distribution to people who had severe pterygium that was encroaching on the line of site and people who were still working out in the sun.”
Dr. Melgar and his team were able to provide over 100 glasses to kids with presbyopia, or farsightedness. They chose the best fit for their vision and often had to prioritize sturdiness over style.
The Personal Impact
Dr. Melgar and his team served about 1,500 people. Each person was, no doubt, grateful for their glasses, but the stories that resonated with the volunteers were those of a local fisherman and an 82-year-old popular shaman.
Fisherman Brought to Tears
The man’s vision, like many of the patients seen by the volunteer doctors, was at risk due to pterygium. He had been working on the river as a fisherman his whole life but now only fished for his family. He struggled to read because of presbyopia.
That day he received a baseball cap, sunglasses and a pair of +3.5 reading glasses. He was excited to get help and when he tried on the readers he got emotional. “[He] could read clearly for the first time in years [and] he started to cry,” said Dr. Melgar. He also found it funny that the man had a choice between men’s and women’s glasses. He ended up choosing the women’s style because “it was sturdier and would last longer.”
The Shaman’s Final Gift of Sight
A popular shaman was suffering from heart failure and was too weak to climb in and out of his home. He continued to work from bed making blowguns for hunting and baskets for his village.
“We set up a clinic in his village and gave him sunglasses,” said Dr. Melgar. Over the next several days his sons carried him down the ladder to and from his home so that he could canoe on the river and fish with his new sunglasses. Just five days later Ramon suffered a massive stroke and passed away. “I am glad we had this one final gift to share with him that helped him get outside in the sun and enjoy his last days,” said Dr. Melgar.
Safaa Sammander
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