Improve Vision Health for 1,000 Hondurans

Dear Friends of VHI,

ONE LIFE MATTERS is the essence of how Dr. Randy Rottman views his work with Vision Health International (VHI). The phrase is also a perfect illustration of what can result when passionate people--like you--come together to help change one life for the better. You may remember Diana, about whom we reported in June and who Dr. Rottman and other doctors diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis during VHI's March 2017 field program to Honduras. Inflammation inside Diana's eyes resulted in the development of cataracts, swelling of the retina, scarring of the iris, and calcium deposition in the cornea. The prognosis was fairly grim but there was hope that with special treatment and extensive ophthalmic care Diana's vision might be rehabilitated. 

WE HAVE GOOD NEWS!

Therapy involving the use of a special chemical helped remove the build up of calcium in Diana's cornea and the intraocular inflammation improved in her left eye. While vision may not be recovered in her right eye, cataract surgery, underwritten by VHI and supported by your donation, will be performed on Diana's left eye within the next 2-3 months. The hope is for significant improvement in her vision. Thanks to your donation Diana was provided with the medicines and the care--delivered as it was by a team of doctors from Honduras and Colorado--she so urgently required. If she could, we're certain Diana would want to thank you, too.

VHI is also pleased to report that preparations are well under way for our upcoming field programs to La Entrada, Honduras. Thanks to the generosity of over 80 donors VHI's GlobalGiving project Improve Vision Health for 1,000 Hondurans is scheduled to take place December 3-10, 2017. A second program is planned for April 2018. VHI's goals for these two programs are to provide 900 vision screenings for adults and children, fit and/or prescribe 750 pairs of eyeglasses and an equal number of sunglasses, and to perform 125 life altering and sight restoring surgeries. Thanks to your generous donation VHI is able to extend its mission and Improve Vision Health for 1,000 Hondurans. 

THANK YOU!

Links:

• please visit our website

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Thanks to over 80 generous donors VHI will not only improve vision health for thousands of kids and adults in Honduras, we will also become a member in the GlobalGiving community of philanthropic corporations, nonprofit organizations, and thousands of people who work to make the world a better place.

VHI fits hundreds of pairs of eyeglasses for adults and children on every program we conduct in Honduras. On each trip there are typically 2 to 3 dozen patients who require special prescriptions in order to correct their impaired vision. VHI has these lenses made in the U.S., and shipped back to Honduras for our patients there. Your donation to VHI’s GlobalGiving crowdfunding campaign will help to make sure that every patient who needs eyeglasses will get them.