And The Blind Could See....
At Simalundu, on our first set of clinics, an elderly man slowly walked in cautiously holding on to the end of stick that a young family member was leading him with. The old man had been blind for 10 years and depended on others to lead him. Living in the Gwembe Valley in the Simalundu area is one of the most difficult existences a person can have in Zambia. Life is tough as the land is not good and the rains are very sparse. These people were displaced in the late 1950's when the Kariba Dam was built. They left a very fertile valley and were brought to a desolate land. That fateful day, he most likely walked several kilometers in the hopes of seeing a doctor for his many ailments. Little did he know that the trip to the ZMM clinic would embark him on to a road that would change his life. He knew the medical team was coming but no one in the area knew we were going to be offering the hope of having their eyesight restored. We had not advertised this as we weren't certain all the pieces would fall in place in order for us to offer this hope.

A year ago when Sheryl Ramsey was at the Livingstone General Hospital donating about 16 of the wheelchairs she met Dr. Monze. Dr. Monze is the administrator for the hospital but is also an ophthalmologist. He is associated with a British Optical Aid Organization called Sightsavers. When Sheryl told him what we do on the medical mission and that we send patients to Zimba for cataract surgery, Dr. Monze was very excited and said he thought Sightsavers could work out a Cataract surgery partnership with ZMM. Throughout the year there was dialogue between Dr. Monze and Sheryl. When I flew into Zambia the first of June, Shepherd Mbumwae, our hospital administrator and I, met in Lusaka with the Program Director of Sightsavers. It was obvious they wanted to partner with us. The plan was for ZMM optical clinic to identify the patients who had cataracts and then we would bring them in by Lorry to Namwianga where Dr. Monze and his assistants would perform the cataract surgery. They knew we did not have a surgery (theatre) room at Namwianga, but they said all they needed was a sterile room with an operating table and light. There would be absolutely no cost for ZMM except for providing food and lodging for Dr. Monze and his team. We also had to contract with Lorries to transport the patients and then we provided food and blankets for the patients and their family members.

When the old man came to the Optical Clinic he was diagnosed with Bilateral Cataracts and was in the first group of patients who traveled over 6 hours to come to Namwianga Health Center. The old man, as did all the others, calmly went through the surgery. I am certain he did not know what the outcome would be as it is also thought by many from their area that if you go to the Theatre (Surgery) you do not return alive. No one was prepared for what happened when the next day when the bandage was removed from the one eye they did surgery on. He proceeded to jump out of bed and started running uncontrollably around the grounds of the Namwianga Health Center singing praises to the Lord and shouting, "I will see my cows - I will see my grandchildren." He did not recognize any of the villagers from Simalundu and only knew who they were when he was able to identify their voice. A few weeks later he came back and was taken to Dr. Monze in Livingstone where he had the other eye operated on.

Dr. Monze is an amazing doctor as he has great compassion for his people. He was the only surgeon and he started early in the morning and operated until after midnight trying his best to take care of as many patients as possible. He was very excited to have the patients we brought in as he said normally these people from so deep in the valley never have the opportunity for cataract surgery. He was also happy with our facility and kept bragging on our wonderful operating table. He said it moved up and down with just putting his foot on a pedal. He also reported he did not have such a table as this at the Livingstone hospital. Dr. Monze performed 52 cataracts and several other types of optical surgery. He already has scheduled partnering with ZMM in 2011. He would love to have at least one Ophthalmologist from the USA join him so even more patients can have their sight restored. If anyone can help us secure more equipment for the surgery that we can send on the containers, it would also be very helpful.

A big thanks to all the partners who made this happen. Funds were donated for purchasing surgical supplies and medicine. Many hours of labor were put in by volunteers in the USA packing boxes and loading containers with the items that were used. The staff at Namwianga Health Center, under the leadership of Shepherd Mbumwae and Fortune Masiya, worked diligently to make it happen. The patients reported to everyone that they were well fed and treated like "Kings and Queens." Of course a big thanks to all of the American and Zambia ZMM team members for their cooperation and encouragement. Lastly, a special thanks to Sheryl Ramsey with help from her brother, Kel, for having the vision and the confidence that this could actually happen.

To God Be The Glory,
Ellie Hamby