The first call of the day was to pick up the sister of my friend Marina and take her to the eye doctor. She has had vision problems for a while and has been frustrated because she couldn't afford glasses. Making a long story short after two optometrists couldn't do anything for her, we went to an old ophthalmologist. The exam was quite long and the conclusion was that her teeth were bad.
Sounds like HMO´s in our country ha! No seriously her molars were so infected that the infection spread to her entire body and ultimately concentrated in her eyes. I mean inside her eyes, not conjunctivitis. I asked the doctor if this could be fixed and he just shook his head slowly and said “no, it would be very expensive.” So I asked him what would happen to her and he said that she will go blind then die. I ventured the question “how expensive?” The Dr. said he could cure it but it would take long term care; One visit per month for five months. The cost was less then $200. I paid in advance and tomorrow she is supposed to go to the clinic for blood work, a urine test, and tonight she had the teeth extracted. He will then put her on several different medications for the infection.
The reality is she would have been blind in a matter of a few more months and then… death. You people just gave a young woman with no hope the opportunity to at least see what she’s missing. Or perhaps she will change the whole city because of the kindness and opportunity that she received from people she doesn’t even know.