Breathtaking; every single one of my experiences in a hospital as a medical professional has always been breathtaking. And today was no different at Tamale Eye Clinic. I seriously cannot explain the emotions I felt as I entered the Tamale Eye Clinic. All the sensations in my body were activated at one shot due to my anxiety and anticipation. My temporal nerve was pulsating, my heart was boom boom powing and at the same time I was having intense adrenaline rushes.
As soon as I was entered the eye clinic, I was greeted by Dr. Seth Wayne’s infectious smile and warm hug, instead of calming down – I was extremely thrilled. Dr. Seth Wanye is the only ophthalmologist for 2 million people in the Northern Region of Ghana. He is on Unite For Sight's Medical Advisory Board and I first met him in April when we invited him to Saint Louis University as a speaker. I cannot tell you how inspiring his story was to me. So far to date there are only three doctors that have truly swept me off my feet: Sanjay Gupta – the CNN Medical Correspondent whom I dream to be one day, Dr. Suman Pasupuleti – my cousin who inspired me to be a doctor and of course Dr. Seth Wanye – the selfless man who became an opthamologist to help his own people with the gift of eyesight. To really learn more about his story you should read about it here: http://www.uniteforsight.org/intl_volunteer/drwanye.php
After a whole day at the clinic from 8am-6pm I truly realized how special Dr. Wanye is and how passionate he is about being a ophthalmologist. He did a total of 36 cataract surgeries back to back without a bathroom or food break and neither did he complain one bit. He simply just smiled after each patient’s cataract was removed and would tell me about the history/personality of each patient.
Here is my day at the clinic in pictures:
Dr. Wanye first introduced me to these gorgeous ladies: Sr. Rachel and Sr. Cory from the Carmelite Monastery in Ghana. Sr. Rachel (on the right) had such a crisp sense of humor and was joking around with me the whole time.She told me that she was very nervous because she was about to get a cataract surgery today and didn't know how the experience would be. She moved to Ghana from the Philippines about 15 years ago to do missionary work and says she loves the hospitality and warmth of the Ghanaian people. She could not wait to see through her left eye once again and told me that once she had the cataract surgery, the first thing she would do is restart her passion of baking bread!
Here is my attempt to use a slit lamp to observe the cataract in Sr. Rachel's eye. She had a very dense cataract that blocked the light entering the lens of her eye.
All the patients with cataracts waiting for Dr. Wanye to perform the cataract surgery. Before each person has the cataract surgery they are tested for abnormal blood pressure and then given anesthesia for the surgery.
The Anesthesia Room where each patient's eye is numbed for surgery.
I'm getting ready for the Operating Room!
The Operation Utensils had to be sterilized by the Physician's Assistant before they were used for surgery.
Dr.Seth Wanye performing the first cataract surgery of the day.
I keenly watched on as Dr. Wanye performed a cataract surgery.
I have been talking so much of cataract surgeries and I just wanted to explain a bit about how they are performed. Here is the method that Dr. Wanye used:
1. Dr. Wanye first made a slight slit on the cornea.
2. Next, the cataract was taken out as a whole without being fragmented into the eye.
3. An intraocular lens was then positioned in the same place.
4. The eye was closed and bandaged.
The patient kept the bandage on for a day and then was able to see out of the eye again!
Today was very rewarding.Out of the whole experience I loved meeting the post-operation patients who were getting their bandages removed. Each patient had such a varying emotion when he or she could see again. Their appreciation and emotions made me realize that the 8 arduous years of fighting for a medical degree are so worth the wait and effort.
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