Author Archives: 100mjt

On our most recent trip to Haiti we had the good fortune to have along a Jay Farbman, a professional photographer. Jay arrived before the surgery team and was able to visit the homes of some of the children that needed cataract surgery. The surgical team consisted of: myself, Matt Thompson, an ophthalmologist out ofContinue reading “Some of the Kids That We Met in Haiti”

“The last day at the clinic, a mother arrived with an 8-month-old baby. The baby seemed to be healthy, but had bilateral cataracts. (Both eyes) The team was not planning to work on young babies. In fact, they had agreed not to operate on anyone younger than 2-years-old… Unfortunately, the reality of the situation inContinue reading “One Child’s Story”

Originally I was planning on making a series of blog posts leading up to this trip. Last year there were some obstacles that got in the way of treating the children that we met with cataracts. I posted about my frustration with this last year. I suppose I have been so worried that something wouldContinue reading “February 2020 Trip”

Last week was a good week to be in Haiti.  Dr. Dan Alter and I visited the residency program in Port au Prince along with several other ophthalmologists.  In December a new class of four ophthalmology residents began their training and we wanted to be there to help them get off to a good start.Continue reading “A Good Start to 2020”

I would recommend that you read Children with Cataracts part 1 before reading this post. (click here) Recently I shared a story about a young man with cataracts who had surgery and had his vision restored. That story has a happy ending back in 2015. Why am I writing a blog post about this storyContinue reading “Children with Cataracts part 2 by Matt Thompson”

When I am talking to people about my experiences in Haiti a question I am often asked is “what is the worst thing you have seen on a mission trip?” I believe it is just a part of human nature to want to know the answer to questions like this. Unfortunately I don’t know howContinue reading “Children with Cataracts part 1 by Matt Thompson”

Sunday November 24, 2019. Today FOCUS has a new website. With the new website comes a new blog. Here we will be able to update you on what is going on at Focus. The photo on the Blog page is titled “The Road to Hope”. I took this photo on one of my first tripsContinue reading “The Road to Hope”