Author Archives: 100mjt

Things are moving in the right direction! Although there will always be challenges, we are taking them on as they appear. One problem in developing countries is reliable electricity. Back home it is something that we take for granted, but in Haiti, power outages are not uncommon. Imagine being in the middle of surgery andContinue reading “Things we take for granted”

Did you know that when you look at the entire education career of a future ophthalmologist, they only spend about 12% of their time studying the eye? Starting from kindergarden it takes at least 25 years to become an ophthalmologist, but only the last 3 of those years are spent studying the eye. That meansContinue reading “January 2021”

2020 was a challenging year.  Since I began my residency training in 2002 I thought 2020 would be the best year to be an eye doctor.  Well it started out great with a couple of trips to Haiti to help some children with cataracts and then you all know the rest of the story.  InContinue reading “Moving Forward in 2021”

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”