Nicaragua

This is the much anticipated dialogue of my trip to Nicaragua to go and do eye exams for those underserved in that country.

The trip began VERY early in the morning when we all met at the college and picked up all of the equipment, eyeglasses, and other supplies we would need to take.  We then flew from Columbus to Atlanta, and then from Atlanta to Managua, Nicaragua (the capital city).

Then we drove through Managua to go to Leon, Nicaragua.  Once we got to Leon, we arrived at our hotel and had dinner, and had a few hours to walk around the city.

The next day we spent having a little bit of fun and touring around the area of Leon, and going to the beach. (our clinic sites didn’t start until the next day).

Then we had four days of clinic.  These days started at about 6:00.  We packed up all our our equipment and traveled to the site, then unpacked and arranged the site each day.  The exams started with checking the peoples’ vision when they first arrived.  Then we checked their external eye for an pathologies and also for pupil function.  Then we would dilate their eyes and have them wait for a bit for it to take full effect.  Then we would check to see if and what their prescription was, and also checking internally for any pathologies on the inside of the eye.  Once we finished, we sent them to receive eyeglasses, or therapeutic drops if needed.

We usually finished our clinic days about 6-7pm.  So after dinner, we had a couple of hours to walk around the city as well, a favorite spot was the local ice cream shop.

Then after we finished clinic, we had a couple more days to do some fun things before we left.  We first went to an active volcano (not currently erupting) and went volcano boarding (like sledding but on the side of a mountain down the sand-like lava).  It was a great hike up with a scary ride down.

Then after finishing up at the volcano, we traveled a few hours to the most touristy town in Nicaragua, Granada.  It is a city of colorful buildings and lots of interesting things to see.  While here we took a tour of some of the islands on the lake the city sits next to.

Also, the last day we went to a place where we had lunch at this lookout point over a large lake and also went zip lining from the foothills of a volcano.

Then, the next day we came back home.  It was a great experience both personally and professionally.  I seeing the patients I saw, I was able to see many things that I may not have seen over or only rarely, and also it was a chance to do and see things that I have never before.