225 students were scheduled to come though the clinic and we were “bright eyed and bushy tailed” for our 8AM start even though we stayed late the night before to finish up completing as many full frames as possible before heading to the hotel for some delicious Chinese takeout!

Gloria’s Six-Year-Old Glasses

Patty’s new friend Gloria got these glasses when she was six and they have been taped for years. She is now 12 and her prescription is much stronger.

Patty is hoping that she will have the opportunity to dispense Gloria’s new glasses in the next two days. Stay tuned for an update on the dispensing of Gloria’s new glasses….

Demontre’s Broken Glasses

Demontre is a fifth grader who received new glasses just two weeks before the clinic. The day after he received his glasses his friend stepped on them and broke them. Demontre brought his broken glasses to the clinic hoping someone there could fix them.

For two weeks Demontre hid his broken glasses from his mother. He was afraid to tell his mom. Heading out to school early in the morning and heading straight to his room when he got home from school.

Mona looked at his broken glasses and determined that they could not be repaired. Mona searched and searched and then searched some more until she finally found a pair of glasses that were close enough in size to fit his lenses. Demontre was very happy! When he found out he was still getting new glasses, he was ecstatic!

Dion’s Story

Jennifer was doing Dion’s auto refracting testing when he began to get upset and scared. He wanted his sister really bad. Melisa rushed through a number of stations trying to find Dion’s sister. Melissa found Dion’s sister at the visual acuity station and we moved her to the front of the line so she could complete her test and be with her brother. He was very scared at this point and began to cry. He gave his sister a big bear hug and she told him everything was fine and Dion began to feel better. You could see how much Dion depended on his sister. Melissa decided Dion should continue with his sister through the remaining testing stations.

Dion was more relaxed by the time he reached the doctor’s station and began talking to Dexter who was “really tall” as he put it. He told Dexter that he was going to be the next Barrack Obama. This gave Dexter a little chuckle. Then Dion told Dexter that he and his sister had two different Dads. Dexter said that’s ok my sister and I have different Dads. He said he can’t see his Dad anymore and he was extremely sad about that. He proceeded to tell Dexter that his father was shot eight times and was in the hospital. Dexter asked him if anyone in his family could take him and Dion replied, no, he’s going to die soon. When this story was shared with the team we were all deeply sadden for this poor boy. I hope that we can provide a small light of happiness by helping to correct his vision.

Darian and his brother Deral

Karen was working with brothers Darien and Deral. Deral was moving through frame selection when he found a pair of glasses that had magnetic sunglass clips that would allow his glasses to act as sunglasses. Deral like the glasses but wanted his brother Darien’s opinion. Darien convinced his brother to continue looking for another pair of glasses and as soon as his brother put the glasses down and began searching for a different pair, Darien picked Deral’s glasses up and decided that he wanted them. Darien was really upset about this and let his brother know it in no uncertain terms.

Karen was working with both brothers and after Darien left, Karen began looking through the blue cases of glasses for something similar that had the clip on sunglasses. Karen was able to find a pair of glasses that his were grey vs. brown like the glasses that his brother Darien took from him. Darien was extremely excited with his selection and couldn’t wait until he received his new glasses. Both boys were happy with their glasses and promised Karen they would not wear the sunglass clips in class.

Samuel’s Plastic Frames

Samuel wanted plastic frames and after several pairs Natasha was able to find a pair he liked. When we asked if he had glasses before he answered yes but that he had but they had broken on they play ground. Natasha suggested that he continue looking, concerned that his plastic frames would break again. After a few more frames, Natasha found a pair of frames that he liked even better. Samuels very pleased with his new metal Oakley frames and Natasha was please because she felt that they would survive the playground much better.

Luis’s “Glasses Protection Plan”

Luis in second grade and just received new glasses in January. He had them for two weeks before they were broken. He was doing his homework and went to the bathroom and when he came back, his three-year-old brother had broken his new glasses. He told me he was in trouble but not to much trouble and showed a grin on his face. He told me his “dad did not have enough money in his paycheck to take him back for another pair of glasses. He was without glasses since January.

I followed Luis through the doctors’ station and into frame selection. As he progressed through the stations he kept sharing

his excitement for his new glasses. We walked together and he tried on several different frames until we finally found a pair he liked. He was hoping to get them today and was a little disappointed to find out that he wasn’t getting them for a few days. I asked him what he is going to do once he gets his new glasses. He told me that he “won’t let them alone with his little brother again, that’s for sure.” We both shared a good laugh over his plan and he thanked me for staying with him and helping him find the perfect pair of glasses.

Diana’s Before and After

Diana already had glasses but her infectious smile after she found her new frames was to cute not to share. It amazing that something so many take for granted can provide so much joy for others.

In Closing

Today we saw 225 students with 207 in need of glasses. The City of Houston representatives are doing a great job screening the students before they get to our clinic with about 92% of the children seen in need of glasses. Because we had a large backlog of glasses that needed to be made, NO ONE wanted to leave at our scheduled time. The team stayed later that night to build out as many glasses as possible. No one on the team wanted even one child to have to wait any longer for the glasses they needed. I feel privileged to be working with such wonderful, caring, and dedicated people at this clinic.

We rushed back to the hotel after making as many glasses as we could with no time for a shower. We all changed quickly, piled into our vans and headed out for some Tex-Mex that was absolutely fabulous. We followed up with a stop at a store next to the restaurant that sold cowboy wear such as hats, boots, etc. We were all thankful to unwind after a long day with good food, good company, and the opportunity to try on some authentic cowboys hats. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow is going to bring!