Sharing an incredible experience with my daughter

I am honoured to be part of TWECS Peru and even more excited to share it with my daughter, Zoe.  This is my third project with TWECS but I am still quite nervous about doing this work.  There are many factors to consider:  This a foreign country and we don’t speak Spanish.  Food and water can be sources of serious sickness, of which we cannot afford to absent from clinic days.  The optometric work is back to the basics, no more relying on automated machines and cameras to verify our diagnoses.  Team dynamics can be an issue and I really only knew a few volunteers from past teams.  Zoe is new to this and I didn’t know how she would handle the long hard days of constant but fun work.

And all those worries about the first day of clinic disappeared the moment we exited the bus and were greeted with hugs from the host family.  It was a fabulous start to our day, the project and the best welcome one could ask for.  We are consistently picking up the language but this is the greatest challenge for me.  I believe communication to be so integral to my job that when it is affected, my whole flow is disrupted.  Fortunately our translators are key members of the TWECS team and we could’t do it without them. And speaking of the TWECS team, it is amazing to see us gel as our own little family in a very short amount of time.  I am in awe of the talents and abilities of each and everyone of the volunteers and I learn immensely from all of them.

Our clinic was set in the home of local family.  We were treated to delicious homemade lunch served to us on our much needed break.  The family and the patrons were so very gracious and appreciative of us being there that you can’t help but feel we are meant to be there.  The feeling is quite overwhelming and is the reason why I do these missions and why there will be many more in my future.

For the optometric work I was astounded by the amounts of astigmatism found in a substantial amount of people.  Mostly with the rule astigmatism and often in the 4-8 diopter range.  Usually most prescriptions are about the same in each eye but today we found a number of strange ones with plano (no prescription) in the right eye and very high amounts of astigmatism in the left. This is highly unusual.  I am so intrigued by the results that I am compelled to review the data and see if the trend continues at the other sites we will visit in the coming days.  Who knows, maybe an article for an optometric journal can be written…

And finally my daughter, Zoe.  She is a grade nine student who is kind and caring and enthusiastic.  Sounds like a perfect match for a TWECS volunteer.  I felt like she had all the qualities she needed to fit in but I cannot say enough about how she shone today.  She is the youngest on our team and she took up the challenge to do the same work as we all do.  She helped in any and all ways that she could.  Other members complimented her on her extraordinary way she has with children.  She worked hard for the whole day with no complaints and when her job was done, she assisted others with their jobs.  She is driven, compassionate and outgoing and I am very privileged to be her mother.  I am so excited to be able to witness her growth over the next 8 days of clinic and to be able to celebrate with her when we travel to Cusco and Manchu Picchu.

Thank you to all my friends and family that have supported us in this adventure.  Without you, work like this would not happen.  And a HUGE shout out to Marina and Derrick, all the volunteers at the warehouse and on all the trips.  Your work is valuable and important and doesn’t go unnoticed.

With much love and gratitude,
Dana