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From the Cockpit to the Operating Room

By: Perry Athanason

 

“Do we have extra large scrubs?” I heard somebody say from the recovery room. The booming voice did not leave me guessing who was going into surgery.

Like Syria’s religious and political leaders of the present, ORBIS’ own Bruce Johnson witnessed a cornea surgery aboard the Flying Eye Hospital. Bruce did not simply sit in the classroom enjoying the view from the screen used for teaching. He traded his flight wings for surgical scrubs and joined volunteer faculty member, Dr. Jonathon Song, in the ORBIS operating theatre to witness the operation first hand. “For me, this is one of the most interesting things I have ever done,” he commented upon exiting the operating theatre. “Watching a cornea transplant was no doubt quite amazing and I am impressed by the level of minute detail that each of the medical professionals practiced during this surgery.”

Pulling off his surgical mask and gown, his eyes expressed amazement for the experience he had just had and, as so many before him, his perception was forever changed.

“I knew the eye is delicate, but I used to think it extremely so. After watching this surgery, I learned it is not as delicate as it seems to be”, he said with a lighthearted chuckle. “I think every profession has its level of required detail, but when you have the quality of life and safety of a person in your hands, that level of detail, and its importance for professional care and detail, skyrocket”, he added.

Bruce Johnson started with ORBIS in 2005 but confesses that, until now, he never truly understood the magnitude of what a Flying Eye Hospital program delivers to its many hospital partners around the world. Knowing that the Flying Eye Hospital provided free surgical care to thousands of people worldwide, he saw first-hand the foundation of ORBIS’ mission to fight preventable blindness…the continuing medical education of ORBIS partners around the world.

“Watching during clinic as our volunteer faculty discussed each case in length, providing not only a thorough exam for the patient, but making sure that each trainee doctor understood each case and asked all the questions needed to make an informed decision on how to approach the specific eye disease and to further care for the patient,” he said. 

Bruce’s passion for ORBIS’ work does not exist solely for professional reasons, his youngest son had amblyopia and says that being at the local hospital, and on the plane, surrounded by kids and their guardian, is something he can relate to. His personal experience combined with time spent in the classroom, as well as experiencing the participation of local doctors, during both the live surgical demonstrations and the didactic lectures by the volunteer faculty, was something that made him further acknowledge the mission of building capacity and offering sub-specialty eye care training to medical professionals.

“From the local hospital to the Flying Eye Hospital classroom to the laser and operating rooms to the recovery and sub-sterilization rooms, seeing the training was very interesting. However impressive the training or surgeries or enthusiasm of the local hosts and partners, there is one aspect of this program that I will remember the most…the people whose lives we help make better, especially the children. It is very hard to see the desperation of a child with blindness or low vision. Knowing that we are providing help to that child in hopes of creating a better future is something that stays with you always”, he concluded.

A huge thank you to Bruce Johnson who attended or participated and definitely helped in each aspect including screening day, program ceremonies, visits from government officials, surgery, training, community outreach programs and life working in the field with the staff…(well, he didn’t help with surgery or medical training).

 

 

Photos by Perry Athanason

Song on Syria

Blog submitted by Dr Jonathan Song 

Dr Jonathan Song is the director of the Cornea Institute at The Vision Center, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and an assistant professor of ophthalmology at Doheny Eye Institute in Los Angeles, CA.

As I pack my luggage for my return trip back to Damascus, it is with a heavy heart that write about my past week experience in Syria. Syria is on a cross road to modernization. ORBIS' commitment to train local personnel in the newest ophthalmic, anesthetic, nursing, technical, and bio-engineering techniques is unparalleled. The ORBIS plane itself is a symbol of a modern, state-of-the-art eye hospital in which global personnel come together for teaching and learning.

My week began with a long trip from Los Angeles with connections from Paris to Damascus. Damascus is a vibrant modern city with a fantastic history. It is here I met up with other ORBIS volunteer faculty as well as Perry Athanason, communications manager aboard the plane, who would escort us to Dier Ezzor. Our drive thru the Syrian dessert to Deir Ezzor was unforgettable. We passed thru Palmyra, the home of ancient ruins which were beautifully excavated with amazing details allowing for a person to experience what could have been thousands of years ago. 

On our arrival in Deir Ezzor, we where met by the whole hard working ORBIS staff group who have been preparing the hospital as well as the airplane for screening and surgery which is no small feat at all. As usual, the tremendous and meticulous preparation was evident during our screening day. The day was hampered by an overrun of people seeking eye care who only recently heard of the groups presences. This was in addition of the pre screened patients who already had been assigned screening appointments. The professionalism and hard work of the ORBIS staff as well as local hospital staff members allowed us to screen all and fill all allotted surgery spots. We saw amazing eye pathology; more importantly, it was a privilege and honor to meet the people of Syria who now became our patients.

My next days in Syria were divided into lecturing and performing surgery in the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital as well as performing surgery at the host hospital. I had energetic hands-on trainees who clearly wanted to learn as much as possible about corneal transp lantation surgery. It is my hope that these trainees continue doing corneal transplantation surgery and aid in the deployment of an eye banking system in Syria.

Our nights in Deir Ezzor were spent enjoying the local food with the mixed grill being my favorite and visiting the downtown area with an open bazaar that showed the vibrancy and uniqueness of the Syrian culture. We even survived a sand storm in which we could not see more than five feet in front of us while in a local taxi.

As I think back on this trip and recall what has touched me the most, I remember the people and children of Syria the most. Both the patients as well as the local hospital staff showed their sincere gratitude to the work being done in this program. It is through organizations such as ORBIS that we realize that despite cultural and political differences, all people have more similar than not. All have a commitment to help their neighbors in a time of need whether it is a person in need in the local hospital or a person half way across the globe. 

Image of Dr Song examining patient

Photos by Perry Athanason

School Kids Open their Eyes to Careers Aboard a Humanitarian Plane

Blog submitted by Jina Moon

Jina Moon is a public relations volunteer in the ORBIS New York office. Her talent for media relations has landed ORBIS feature news and magazine articles across the United States. 

“It’s cool, it’s awesome, it’s amazing!” This is the response I got when talking to Catalina Velasquez, a sixth grader from PS 102 in Queens, about what she thought about the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital—I couldn’t agree with her more.

As a PR volunteer, I’ve pitched my share of stories about the amazing volunteer faculty and crew who contribute to the ORBIS cause. However, today, while the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital made a brief stopover in New York City at LaGuardia Airport’s Marine Air Terminal, I had the opportunity to come and visit the ORBIS plane in person. It was great to finally see the plane and meet the wonderful staff in person.

During the plane’s brief stay in New York, we were able to host a group of sixth graders from PS 102 and eighth graders from the Community Health Academy of the Heights from Manhattan. Each class came to get a close look at the world’s only flying eye hospital and learn about the unique careers of the fabulous crew.

After getting a brief introduction about ORBIS and the Flying Eye Hospital’s mission, students visited the laser room where they spoke with Dr Srini, an ophthalmologist, and Tarek, a biomedical engineer. Both work full time aboard the plane, traveling from 8-10 months per year. In the laser room, students learned about the different lasers and what they’re used for. Some were even lucky enough to try the surgical simulator.

The students then marched along to the pre-op/post-op recovery area where nurse Jackie Newton explained the important role that the nurses play in the care of patients aboard the plane and in the communities. Students volunteered to play the role of patient and nurse, measuring blood pressure and getting hooked up to the heart monitor.

When the group moved on to the surgery room, Dr Hunter Cherwek spoke about what happens during surgery, emphasizing the importance of teaching local doctors by “showing how, not showing off” and answering the students’ various questions. A couple lucky volunteers put on surgical caps, masks and gloves and looked through the surgical microscope to get a feel for what it is like to operate on eyes.  

Without a doubt, the students were amazed at what they saw, learned a lot about the different careers aboard the ORBIS plane and were pleasantly surprised that it was much better than they expected. As Catalina remarked, “I expected a boring hospital, but it’s so much cooler!”

For the students of the Community Health Academy of the Heights, this was a great opportunity to see health professions in a unique setting. For some, this visit helped to solidify their resolve in becoming healthcare professionals in the future. Following this trip, eighth-grader Anaury Pena is now determined to be a doctor, and his classmate Marianne Rosario wants to work with ORBIS once he graduates from university

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Déjà Vu of a Different Kind

Blog submitted by Dr David Hunter Cherwek
 
Dr David Hunter Cherwek has been a member of the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital since June 2005. During this time, he has served as staff ophthalmologist, lead ophthalmologist, medical director of the Flying Eye Hospital, Director of the Flying Eye Hospital and is currently serving as the medical director for ORBIS International.

During the recent Flying Eye Hospital program in Trujillo, Peru, I experienced one of the most intense moments of déjà vu of my life in the middle of a very busy Screening Clinic in pediatric ophthalmology. For those of you unfamiliar with an ORBIS screening clinic, this is the day when the local host hospital presents up to 30 cases in a particular sub-specialty to ORBIS volunteer faculty, of which an average of 10-15 will be selected for surgery during the week. Multiply that by an average of 5 sub-specialty clinics per screening day (glaucoma, cornea, retina, pediatrics, etc) and you suddenly find yourself amidst 100-125 patients awaiting examination and further treatment.

During this particular screening, I saw a young boy waiting with his mother on a bench and automatically recognized that I had walked him down the stairs of the plane after surgery during a previous program. My “double-take” also caught the attention of the young boy’s mother who grabbed my arm and reached in her purse to pull out a photo album.  She quickly showed me a picture from the 2006 Flying Eye Hospital program in Chiclayo, Peru, with her son and me at the base of the stairs of the Flying Eye Hospital just after the boy’s operation. 

I quickly emailed the ORBIS NY office to get his 2006 chart and Rebecca Saxton-Fox, the Flying Eye Hospital coordinator, responded immediately with his chart by sending me a scanned copy. During the 2006 program, we treated his pediatric glaucoma and since that program the young boy had developed a cataract which we were asked by our host to evaluate during this program. I was very pleased to learn that our pediatric volunteer faculty member, Dr Douglas Frederick, found this boy’s case to be a great teaching case for the local doctors with a positive prognosis and was able to perform his cataract surgery aboard the Flying Eye Hospital. Once again I was able to see this young boy benefit from our team’s efforts.  

Dr Hunter Cherwek reunites with a young patient in Trujillo, Peru

Photos by Perry Athanason

ORBIS’ Youngest Volunteer

Blog submitted by Perry Athanason

Perry Athanason is the Communications Manager on the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital and has been a member of the crew since November 2007.

When Juan Solarte’s father, former Flying Eye Hospital director Dr Carlos Solarte, told him about an airplane with a hospital inside, he imagined the largest plane he could possibly think of. When seeing the plane for the first time in Santo Domingo, his imagination had served him well. His dad told him that he would be working this week (as much as a six-year-old can do), helping him and the ORBIS team deliver its program to the people of the Dominican Republic.

Sitting on the counter of the communications center aboard the Flying Eye Hospital, six-year old Juan explained to me his impressions of the plane and of doing humanitarian work.

“I didn’t think there would be an elevator inside and I thought that Rich was one of the doctors until I saw him working on the plane,” he explained. “I knew this would be a lot of work and my class back home in Colombia wants me to tell them all about it, but I did not imagine how much work it would really be.”

Juan spent the screening days assembling small ORBIS planes and hand-held FedEx fans to give out to the children and adults waiting in the clinic – his favorite part of the program. He met many children his age and his size and was able to greet them eye to eye. He explained to me that he met many children whose eyes were not well and he felt very sad to know that not all would be candidates for surgery during the program.

On humanitarian work, Juan explained how impressed he was that people would work so hard to help other people. After a moment of thought, Juan looked at me and said,

“The people here are all very nice and I hope they all get better and take care of themselves. I feel like I have made lots of friends here.”

Juan joined us on the plane for an afternoon as research for a humanitarian report he scheduled to give to his class upon his return. He spent time talking with the ORBIS staff and learning about what each person does to contribute to the overall mission of ORBIS.

As we continued our interview, Juan told me how interesting the plane was and how he liked that everybody works really hard to deliver these programs. In closing, Juan could not walk away from the interview without commenting again on the elevator inside the plane and, of course, how funny Hunter and Jinsook were every time he saw them.

When Juan returns home, he will deliver a presentation to his kindergarten class at the Collegio Colombo Britannico (CCB) in Cali, Colombia and explain to them about humanitarian work and his visit to the Flying Eye Hospital.

Juan Solarte Interviewing Perry on the Flying Eye Hospital

Photos by Perry Athanason and Carlos Solarte

From the Skies to the Streets, Eye Care Vehicles Unite in the Dominican Republic

Blog submitted by Perry Athanason

Perry Athanason is the Communications Manager on the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital and has been a member of the crew since November 2007.

“Let’s do something a bit different”—this is usually the verbal trademark of something new, fresh and exciting, which was definitely the case when I sat down to write the communications and advocacy plan for the Santo Domingo Flying Eye Hospital.

Our host, the AYBAR / CECANOT hospital, recently acquired two mobile eye vans as part of an initiative to deliver eye care into rural communities throughout the Dominican Republic. Wanting to strengthen the Flying Eye Hospital’s advocacy programs, I jumped at the chance to organize and launch two separate rural screening projects with our host. When I presented the plan, they too jumped at the chance and soon enough, the ORBIS team, along with the residents from AYBAR / CECANOT were locked in a 4-hour planning meeting to outline the details of the project.

For the first day’s project we targeted two communities in dire need of health education, awareness and screening of eye diseases prevalent in the Dominican Republic—most notably cataract and glaucoma. These two areas were Cristal Rey and Los Alcarrizo – both economically disadvantaged and identified by our hosts as areas in need of basic eye screening and education.

The team from ORBIS consisted of myself (Perry Athanason), Amelia Chamberlain, Gavin Wickham, Drs Srinivas S. Iyengar, Ekta Aggarwal, Sophia Pathai and volunteer associate ophthalmologist, Dr Grace Prakalapakorn from Emory University. We were joined by several resident ophthalmologists and nurses from AYBAR / CECANOT, volunteer translators and last, but not least, Radames Collado and Sylvia Marley from FedEx.

We met at the local hospital early in the morning and boarded our vans to the first location by 10:00 am. We were met by a community ambassador team led by congresswoman, Ms Cleo Sanchez. The team quickly organized the crowd and began the screening clinic, they worked flawlessly, examining each patient and moving them through the process. Radames and Sylvia were a great help escorting patients through each station and translating the experience for both the patients and the ORBIS staff.

By 1:00 pm the team had screened approximately 90 patients, of which roughly a third received appointments for further investigations and possibly surgery at AYBAR / CECANOT hospital—a service they will provide for free under the ORBIS partnership.

The second location was about an hour ride from the first location—into the outskirts of town. Again we were met by a community ambassador team who had organized the patients prior to our arrival. We were tired from the first screening and with daylight fading fast the ORBIS crew picked up the momentum just where they had left off and screened another 75 patients.

Our local host was very well organized in its presentation of these two clinics and with the support of community leaders such as Congresswoman Sanchez and other government officials, screenings such as these are becoming more frequent in the Dominican Republic. For example, the second screening day, scheduled for the last Friday of program, consisted of a much smaller team—myself and Dr Grace Prakalapakorn. We joined the residents in yet a third location; this one required a road-trip across the country to the north…near Santiago in a small town called Sancero. This screening was organized by the Lion’s Club and true to its reputation, was handled with care, organization and professionalism. As a member of an organization whose soul mission is to combat avoidable blindness worldwide, it is quite a feeling meeting others in the field with the same goal. To see their work, their passion and their love for the communities they serve, made me even more proud and honored to be doing this type of work.

I would like to say in closing that in my year and a half with ORBIS, I have never been more proud of the individuals who embraced this idea, brought their personal and professional experiences to the table and worked together to deliver this advocacy project to the people of the Dominican Republic—my hats off to the Flying Eye Hospital team!!!

Photos by Gavin Wickham

Esprit de Corps

Blog submitted by Grace Prakalapakorn

Grace attends Emory University, School of Medicine as an ophthalmology resident and volunteered for ORBIS for the first time as an Associate Ophthalmologist during the Flying Eye Hospital's visit to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Against the tropical backdrop of palm trees and blue waters, the ORBIS DC-10 Flying Eye Hospital made a perfect landing in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. On the ground, both crew and FedEx members eagerly awaited to welcome the plane.  As soon as it arrived, a bustle of activity ensued on board as both crew members and volunteers worked side-by-side to unpack the plane and prepare it for the weeks ahead.

For the remainder of its stay, the ORBIS team along with partnership from the local ophthalmology society, six local hospitals and FedEx worked tirelessly to complete a program that focused on building local capacity and public advocacy. Through screening days, surgical cases, symposiums and a public advocacy campaign involving mobile screening units, ORBIS was able to fulfill its goals.

Throughout the trip, there was continuous exchange of knowledge, ideas and skills. While the most overt example of this was though the direct transfer of knowledge and skills from the visiting faculty and nurses to their trainees, it also occurred in the reverse direction from the trainees to the visiting faculty and nurses though sharing of experiences and between the individual team members at all levels. What impressed me the most was how the ORBIS team members came together to work as a unit. The team members themselves were a diverse group that came from all over the world (including Canada, China, India, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States to name a few) and each member brought a unique skill set to the team via their different backgrounds in training (pilots, mechanics, engineers, nurses, doctors, etc …) and life experiences.

I enjoyed the opportunity to work with such a great and unique organization. Through its endeavors at capacity building, increasing local awareness about eye care and forming partnerships with local organizations and individuals, ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital’s impact on the community will extend well beyond its two-week tenure in Santo Domingo.

Photos by Perry Athanason

A New Year, New Country – Same Enduring Spirit

Thoughts at 31,000 feet above China/Russia border aboard the ORBIS DC-10

Making positive changes in people’s lives is at the heart of this organization and is why we all do what we do—from every aspect and every position within ORBIS, our bottom line is investing in people throughout the world—furthering the educational opportunities for doctors, treating patients who suffer from avoidable blindness or vision loss, nurturing the science and medicine of ophthalmology in societies already working hard to strengthen their abilities to help their people.

This became quickly apparent to me once again as the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital touched down in a country never visited before—the People’s Democratic Republic of Laos. The plane arrived on a Sunday and was greeted by the Lao President himself, his Excellency Choummaly Sayasone, who visited the plane shortly after we had converted it into hospital mode. He had visited our program during last year in Vietnam and had extended the invitation to bring the plane to his country and for the benefit of Lao people. We were also proud to welcome the Minister of Health, Dr Ponmeck Dalaloy, US Ambassador to Lao PDR, Mr Ravic Huso and several other dignitaries from the government cabinets. Each expressed their appreciation of our team, our programmatic approach and our unique hospital with wings.

One recurring comment shined through the week and was expressed by both the doctors participating in the program and those observing: ORBIS has come here to teach. This is the first time they had been given this type of educational opportunity and are extremely thankful.

Celebrating the Family of ORBIS

We arrived in Laos with a new team member, staff nurse Ms Beverly Tremlett, and a returning veteran, Ms Linda Tranchemontagne, who is back as head nurse. For 26 years nurses like Linda and Beverly have taken turns carrying the ORBIS torch, passing it lovingly from one generation to the next. 

This inaugural program also welcomed several first-time volunteer faculty members to the ORBIS family – Dr Shaun Singer from Canada, Dr Bazil Ateleanu from the UK, Dr William Yang from the US and a team from Wills Eye Hospital in the US: Dr Julia Haller, Dr L. Jay Katz and Dr Jonathan Myers. It’s always a treat to see people on the plane for the first time. Pictures and video of the ORBIS plane or its programs just don’t do justice compared to the real thing and their reactions definitely show. In conversations with the local doctors, each provided accolades in the teaching offered by our new, and returning, volunteer faculty. One particular impromptu teaching method during a “chalk talk” involving Dr Myer removing his shoelaces to better demonstrate his technique in suturing, an action that struck a few of the local doctors as both unique and very effective.

It was with that spirit that we were joined by a new partner, OptiMedica Corp, who generously donated the new PASCAL photocoagulator to the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital. Used to treat a variety of retinal diseases, PASCAL dramatically improves the physician’s ability to control the precision, safety and efficiency of the photocoagulation procedure, while minimizing treatment duration, treatment frequency and patient discomfort. During the two week program in Laos, we were honored to be joined by Mr Sean Teo and Mr George Marcellino from OptiMedica, who joined us to help introduce the PASCAL to the ORBIS staff and interested Lao doctors.

A Lao-style goodbye

The week ended with a traditional Lao-style celebration—a gift to the ORBIS team. Dr Vithoune Visonnavong, director Vientiane Ophthalmology Center, Ministry of Health keep promising me two particular items for this program celebration…beef and beer. Though I tried to explain that beef and a cold Coca-Cola would better suit my particular culinary interests, it just didn’t have that same allure and alliteration. The team danced, ate and graciously accepted the honor given to them though this celebration. Spending time in their world, celebrating their successes and embracing a newly created camaraderie in our mutual interest to combat avoidable blindness introduced yet another extension to the ORBIS family—an extension I hope we reunite in the near future.

 

Photos by Perry Athanason

ORBIS Volunteer Pilot is "Best of America"

For over 25 years, ORBIS has been striving to eliminate avoidable blindness in the developing world where 90% of the world’s blind live. With the help of hundreds of dedicated volunteer doctors, nurses and pilots, each year ORBIS steadily moves closer to achieving its vision of a world where no one is needlessly blind.

ORBIS volunteer pilots play an important role in delivering sight worldwide as they make it possible for ORBIS to relocate the Flying Eye Hospital—the world’s only airborne ophthalmic training facility—to airports throughout the developing world.

One such volunteer is Jim Bevier. A retired FedEx pilot based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, Jim has helped train volunteer ORBIS pilots since 2001 and began flying the ORBIS DC-10 in 2004. He has piloted the Flying Eye Hospital to more than 20 programs around the world—from the Philippines to Peru.

Jim’s sincere dedication to help ORBIS carry out its mission has earned him a feature in the January 2009 issue of Reader’s Digest magazine. Read more about Jim, one of ORBIS’s many stellar volunteers, here.

Jim Bevier at the first Flying Eye Hospital program in Vietnam

ORBIS Ireland Supporters Run 10km at 10,000 feet

When I joined ORBIS Ireland as development manager in October of this year, my first project was to organize and accompany twenty-three ORBIS Ireland board members and supporters to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to take part in the Great Ethiopian Run on November 23, 2008.

The twenty-three runners came from various walks of life; a number of them are ORBIS Ireland board members or their friends, and some supporters heard about the run through an advertising campaign. The participants all had one thing in common–-a desire to support ORBIS Ireland’s commitment to eliminate blinding trachoma in the Gamo Gofa, Konso and Derashe regions of Ethiopia by the end of 2012.

Each participant was asked to raise €3500 for the projects in Ethiopia. Over many months prior to the trip they all rose to the challenge and currently ORBIS Ireland looks to raise more than €50,000 from the campaign. This amazing figure was achieved through individual donations and creative fundraising events such as bag packing in supermarkets, a curry night, a sausage sizzle, a race night, a comedy night…I could go on. All in all every single person put forth a huge effort into raising significant funds, proving their dedication and passion for ORBIS.

The 10km road race - at 10,000 feet above sea level - is known as the largest mass participation sports event in Africa,with over 30,000 people taking part,including world renowned athletes Haile Gebrselassie,Richard Nerurkar,Sweden’s 2004 Olympic Heptathlon champion Carolina Kluft and the United Kingdom’s 5000m specialist Mo Farah.