This 13-year-old girl and this older woman were equally
overjoyed to regain their sight after cataract surgery.

November 6-21, 2003, a team of Canvasback eye specialists brought gifts of sight to young and old in Pohnpei.

Team members included Ronald Evans, MD and Joan Evans, RN (Placerville, CA);  David Eisenberg, MD (Brookline, MA); Shawn O'Brien, OR tech. (Folsom, CA); Ann Humbird, optician (Camino, CA); Dennis Snider, MD, and Janeann Snider, team coordinator (Loma Linda, CA); and Jacque Spence, program director (Benicia, CA).

The team performed 450 examinations, 82 surgeries, and dozens of diode laser procedures for patients with diabetic complications.  They also provided glasses for patients who needed them. 

From the first day the clinic was swarming with people waiting for a chance to be seen by the doctors. Team leader Ron Evans was touched by the needs he found there.  He said:

"There are limited resources in Pohnpei, and there is not much to go around when it comes to meeting the medical needs of the people. Those that we became acquainted with we developed a great respect for—the scope of their work was wide, and born of necessity. Dr. Aminis David and Dr. Winston Likiaksa wash out ears, treat colds, deliver babies, and remove cataracts. While they are stretched in many directions and fill what needs they can, they appreciate the medical specialists that come under the Canvasback mission.

"Patients have been told for months that an eye team will be coming. Those who were having a hard time even navigating around their homes, some who have had recent changes in their vision, some who have had trauma of various types, and even those who just have a hard time reading, have been told to 'wait for the eye team.' It is not hard to understand how we met with such high expectations in the clinic.

"The cataracts were unlike the average cataract that we deal with in the USA. They were much more advanced, much harder in consistency, and often were removed through relatively poorly dilated pupils.

"After the first seven cases that I did on the first operating day, I knew that I was dealing with some advanced pathology. Somehow, I managed to end up with few complications; most were minor and of little long-term consequence. I had the definite conviction that God’s hand was guiding during the surgeries. . .

"Perhaps it was due to this, or to the prayer that I had with the patients just before starting the surgery, that I became more comfortable and much less apprehensive as the days went by. Just as important as the surgeon adjusting to the environment, the equipment and the cases, is the knowledge that God is in control. Nothing like the latter can calm you down when you have someone’s vision at stake and their trust in your hands."

Melody Santos, 14, had a dense white cataract.  Dr. Evans removed the cataract and performed a lens implant.	Dr. Evans was happy to see Melody's vision improved significantly.
	One hero in the trenches of clinic was optician Ann Humbird. When the two surgeons, Dr. Evans and Dr. Eisenberg were out of the clinic in the O.R., Ann would be left to screen and triage the patients, armed with some trial lenses, and auto-refractor, and a pen light.
Retired retinal specialist Dennis Snider, set up shop in a non air- conditioned utility closet where a diode laser and microscope were kept. The room was filled with cobwebs and the equipment was covered in a thick layer of dust. No one had learned to use the laser, which previously had been donated by a group from Israel.
Dr. Snider instructed the local E.E.N.T. medical officers on the use of the laser for the many eye conditions associated with diabetes. This was Dr. Snider's fifth mission trip to the islands with Canvasback.