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With Anticipation . . . Patient Selection

Today, I prepared myself for a long, emotionally charged day – patient selection.

This morning I’m one of three patient screeners. Armed with a list of 30 names and a bag of colored badges, I’m tasked with looking for patients seeking care from a particular cause of blindness and vision loss that local doctors are eager to treat with more skill – oculoplastics.

Before and After

After a 7 hour flight from Aleppo, Syria, the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital landed in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Many familiar faces anxiously await our arrival. Airport representatives and delegates from the Minstry of Health are on hand to welcome us. A reunion among old friends and the introduction of new ones takes place on the tarmac under the warm East African sun.

The reception is brief. There's work to be done. While in flight, gurneys are strapped down. Fragile ophthalmic equipment is packed into padded cases, which are then secured to the floor or stored in cargo compartments. It's now time to unpack and set-up the hospital. Tasked with specific assignments, the medical team beginis sterilizing the operating and recovery rooms while the biomedical engineers carefully assemble the microscopes and lasers. All others, myself included, pitch in to move boxes, mount cameras and telephones, restock medical supplies and transform the passenger cabin into a classroom.

Four hours later, the Flying Eye Hospital is ready. In two days time, we will welcome more than 40 ophthalmologists on board eager to learn new skills in glaucoma, oculoplastics and pediatric cataracts. But first, it's off tomorrow morning to the Mulhimbili National Hospital to select the patients who will receive free eye surgeries and laser treatments.

Signing off from Syria

Today has been another incredible day in Syria. With an early morning start, we are back on the ORBIS DC-10, watching the last two operations taking place before the end of the program. The patients from yesterday are back for their post-op check up and are doing well. From observing the surgeries to meeting the local doctors, this week has been filled with experiences that I will never forget. In a few hours the ORBIS crew will pack up the plane and get ready for their next program in Africa, where they will again work with local doctors for hands-on training in an effort to eliminate avoidable blindness.

I am here in Syria for another two days and will hopefully get some great sightseeing in before we leave. Aleppo is a beautiful city filled with friendly people. I am looking forward to checking out the souks later on!

Syrian President visits Flying Eye Hospital

Today I had the chance to meet President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, who came to visit the ORBIS DC-10! As a trained ophthalmologist, he took a great interest in ORBIS’ program and wanted to see first hand the training and lectures that were taking place aboard the plane.

Onboard the Flying Eye Hospital in Syria

Greetings! I am here in Aleppo, Syria, volunteering with the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital along with my father, Dr. Jay Fleischman.

We have only been here for three days and already there are so many stories to share. From helping to screen patients in the local hospital to watching their surgeries aboard the ORBIS DC-10 aircraft, it has been an incredible experience.

Yesterday we went to visit three-year-old Aya, one of the patients selected to have eye surgery, in order to learn more about her life as well as her medical condition. Her family welcomed us into their home located in a small desert village outside of Aleppo. As we sat cross-legged on the floor drinking our tea, Aya's father explained that although Aya is only three years old, she knows she is different, as the kids always crowd around her and stare when she walks down the street. Born with a cleft palate and an eye that is malformed, Aya's facial structure is misshapen.

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In the coming months expect to find a fantastic assortment of video, photographs and first-person accounts of the various projects and events happening in the world of ORBIS.

Stay tuned for adventures in saving sight worldwide!

About ORBIS International

ORBIS is a nonprofit, global development organization whose mission is to eliminate avoidable blindness by strengthening the capacity of local eye health partners in their efforts to prevent and treat blindness. Through the principles of capacity building, local partners gain self-sufficiency in eye health care, and residents enjoy quality eye health services that are affordable, accessible and sustainable.