The Medical City continues advocacy for eye health
The Medical City (TMC) recently braved heavy rains to continue its advocacy of promoting eye health check and awareness among many Filipinos.
A team of ophthalmologists and technicians from TMC’s Eye and Vision Institute went to Barangay Ugong in Pasig City to conduct eye screening for the benefit of hundreds of citizens of the barangay, mostly senior citizens and underprivileged.
The beneficiaries were carefully selected from among the barangay’s more than 20,000 residents by no less than newly elected barangay captain herself, Lizbeth Nicolas Santiago, her staff and other barangay officials.
Very early in the morning and despite the gloomy and cloudy skies, people trooped to the barangay basketball court and waited for their turn to be checked by TMC’s ophthalmologists and did not mind the threat of a downpour just to have their eyes checked. Around 70 percent of the patients complained of blurred vision in one or both eyes, followed by feeling of dryness.
Among them is Luzviminda Torres (not her real name), who suffers from a continuous blurring of her vision, a condition she has endured for the past 11 years. Upon checking with the ophthalmologist, who conducted eye tests using an eye refraction machine, it was revealed that she had cataract in both eyes, an immediate operation was deemed necessary.
But Luzviminda did not return to the eye doctor as advised. And just like any poor barangay resident, her fear was that she could not afford a costly eye operation. However, the team advised her that there was no need to worry about the cost of a cataract operation. She was assured that The Medical City can always help her lessen the expenses.
Dr. Abbey de Guia from TMC’s Eye and Vision Institute noted that the patient seemed delighted with the good news and went to the hospital for a more thorough consultation a week after the medical mission in the barangay. She reported that Luzviminda is now in line for an eye operation.
“There’s a sense of pride diagnosing, treating, and educating patients with ocular diseases. There is also a sense of humility at being able to help improve a small part of the body through our area of specialty. Giving their eyesight back to the blind is a fulfillment in its own,” said De Guia.
The other members of the TMC team were Drs. Denise Granada, Kaye Locaycay, Noel Cruz, and Corinna Carag.
They were joined by TMC’s Eye and Vision Institute operations manager Myra D Mejia.
For more about The Medical City, visit www.themedicalcity.com.