Transcript
supplies for a medical mission to provide cataract surgery to 150 citizens of the Dome of Tanzania. I used the Avanti VTO program and traveled with the John Moran Eye Center global outreach team to provide eye care and surgery to the people of the Dome of Tanzania. I'm fortunate to have my wife leading the outreach division, which makes this accessible to me. The team always takes one volunteer to set up medical equipment, help with patient flow and just help wherever it's needed. I'm also a photography enthusiast, so I take pictures of the team's efforts for use in their media and fundraising efforts. Supporting the team as they provide sight-saving surgery is a life-changing experience. Eyepatches are something everyone develops in their life. In underdeveloped countries like Tanzania, there is one ophthalmologist for millions of citizens, and typically only the wealthy have access to the care. The outreach division works with the local doctors, nurses and techs to create efficient, sustainable eye care for the masses. The day after surgery, they do post-ops in the lobby. As they remove the eyepatch, the patients blink their eyes a couple times and start looking around. It's not uncommon for them to cry, touch things they can see for the first time and even dance. Some of these patients have been blind for decades, so they haven't seen themselves in the mirror, seen their kids grow old and never seen their grandchildren. I mentioned earlier my wife runs the outreach program at the Moran, so I have been on a few trips, both internationally and here locally, they do the Navajo Nation down in southern Utah. I don't go every time because I tease her that they work too hard. So putting in the time and effort it takes for one of these trips is a reminder of hard work or the Avanti core value, fighting the good fight and having that pay off. So it's great to have separate pots of time off to pull from and I do use PTO for my travel time and BTO for my work in the clinics. If you've seen the movie Willy Wonka, all the people are trying to get the golden tickets. I consider myself a winner of one of the golden tickets in life. I've had a great life. There is need anywhere you look, in our own community or around the world, there is someone you can help have a better life.
