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I
n the Caribbean’s Windward Islands lies the
country of Grenada. Our medical mission
team recently returned from another sojourn
there, and looking back I am reminded of how
it all began with scuba diving.
Four years ago I was in Grenada on a dive
trip. We all know that bittersweet feeling of the last
day, the final dive, the farewell. As I was packing up, I
looked for a souvenir and grabbed a local newspaper.
On its cover was a photograph of Santa Claus, and
sitting on Santa’s knee was a boy about two years old.
The boy had severely crossed eyes. I knew the picture
was supposed to be cute, but I also realized a grave
truth: If this child did not have the necessary eye
muscle surgery, he could be at risk for going blind in
one eye from a condition known as amblyopia.
Curious, I remarked to the hotel receptionist, “Back
in the States I do surgery to straighten crossed eyes.
Who does that here?” She gazed at me flatly, “No one.”
I wasn’t sure what she meant. “You mean, no one here
on this island? If the child goes to a larger island, can
he see an eye doctor?” She seemed a bit impatient.
“No, miss. We don’t have. Maybe if he rich, he fly to
Miami. We have no doctor to do surgery on children’s
eyes here.” I was stunned. When I got back home I did
some research, and sure enough she was right.
How could I let the people of an island I love very
much serve me their food, clean my room, maintain my
hotel grounds and drive me from place to place while I,
with the skills to help them, did nothing in exchange?
I made a few phone calls and sent some letters.
After months of searching for a way to help, I
discovered a team of eye surgeons in New York led by
an ophthalmologist named Orazio Giliberti, M.D. Dr.
Giliberti had ties to the St. George’s University School
of Medicine in Grenada, and he was willing to help.
The following year I returned to the island, and in
addition to my scuba gear I brought a fully equipped
team of trained medical and surgical assistants. With
the generous support of St. George’s University, our
team was able to examine the eyes of more than 100
children. We performed eye muscle surgeries in the
local general hospital and were televised as the first
pediatric eye surgeons in the country.
A few years have passed, and today we are a
committed team of more than 20 ophthalmologists
who cover all subspecialities. Each month the
people of Grenada receive eye surgery for cataracts,
glaucoma, corneal diseases, eyelid abnormalities and
many other conditions from one of our volunteer
ophthalmologists. Winston Churchill once said, “We
make a living from what we get, but we make a life
from what we give.” Although I have never had the
chance to meet that boy who sat on Santa’s knee in the
newspaper photograph, I know that my Christmas joy
comes directly from the smiles of Grenadian children I
have come to know because of a scuba diving trip.
AD
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WINTER 2017
MEMBER
TO MEMBER
SHARE YOUR STORY
Do you have tips, advice, travel strategies, dive techniques,
lessons learned or other words of wisdom to share with your
fellow divers?
Alert Diver
wants your story! Email it to
M2M@dan.org,or mail it to “Member to Member,” c/o
Alert
Diver
, 6 W. Colony Place, Durham, NC 27705.
GIVING BACK
HOW DIVING LED TO SAVING
CHILDREN’S EYESIGHT
By Ingrid A. Carlson, M.D.
On the last day
of a dive trip
to Grenada,
pediatric
ophthalmologist
Ingrid Carlson
saw a photo in a
local newspaper
that inspired
her to make
a difference.
Today she is one
of more than
20 volunteer
ophthalmologists
who visits
Grenada regularly
to provide
medical services.
INGRID CARLSON
LAUREN SCHUHOW
JOSHUA YETMAN
JOSHUA YETMAN