Alaska Eye Care

Eye care in remote Alaskan villages is interesting. I just saw a 13 year old girl for her first eye exam. She couldn't even see the the big "E" on the chart. Her first pair of glasses will be a real "eye opener" for her. Yesterday I found a full thickness macular hole in a woman which is a hole in the retina right over the central seeing part of the retina. I explained to her that she needed to see a specialist in Anchorage. She said that maybe sometime in August or September she could go to Anchorage. I had to explain for quite a while that this was not something to wait several months for. I also had a lady yesterday with advanced glaucoma. She was not using her glaucoma medication because she needed to go to the clinic in Bethel for a new prescription. I explained to her that she needed to make this a priority as she could go blind from glaucoma. I also had a man yesterday with dense cataracts in each eye. He will also need to fly to Anchorage for surgery. It is much harder for the villagers to get care for health problems. They can't just drive to the doctor. They have to take a bush plane to Bethel which will usually stop at a few villages along the way, then a jet from Bethel to Anchorage. They usually will also have to stay overnight in Anchorage before returning home, so it is a lot of time and expense just to go see a doctor. They are usually very happy that we travel out to their village.