Visiòn Integral

Interviewer: Could you tell us what’s your name and where you’re from? Mr. Clark: Yes, I’m Leonard Clark and I’m from Los Angeles, I’m a resident in Florida and I live in Guatemala part of the year too. Interviewer: You have recently been treated at Vision Integral, what has been your experience? Mr. Clark: Well, it was a miracle really (laughs)…I went to another ophthalmologist because I had just a slight problem and I was miss handled, I had a surgery that wasn’t correct. And son, thankfully I got here because I didn’t know any of the ophthalmologists in Guatemala at all, so I was very glad to be referred here. And there was a wonderful team, 3 men, 3 specialists looked me over immediately and carefully talked to me about what the situation was and what had happened to me and immediately I was comforted. I was also comforted that it was in English, so I could understand in detail. I speak Spanish to a degree but when I’m talking about my eyesight, you know, I want specifics in English (laughs…) so, yeah, it was a really good immediate experience, I was received really well. I didn’t have a pending appointment, they made room for me in their schedule, and I walked in. I was a walk-in, a referral, really. Interviewer: Ok. Would you recommend Vision Integral to other fellow Americans? Mr. Clark: Well Yes, this is one week later. I had the surgery the very next day after I came in for a consultation. There was a tear in my retina that needed to be addressed right away, it had actually…It wasn’t good, there was some danger there, so we needed to address it, and they did it. And, I must say that my experience with operations in general, probably like everybody else, isn’t wonderful. I don’t like it, I get afraid, I don’t want people to know I am afraid, I feel, you know, very very tense. The operation itself was a breeze (laughs…) it was really wonderful. Some friends brought me here and I was taken care of immediately. The anesthesiologist was brought in; he was with me during the whole operation and saw me out the door. It was a remarkable experience. I had a surgery at Cedar Sinai in Los Angeles and didn’t do nearly as well. Had nothing to do with my eyesight, but let me tell you this was really top notch treatment by everybody. Interviewer: Thank you very much. Mr. Clark: You`re welcome. Thank you.

Interviewer: Would you like to tell us what’s your name and where you’re from? Mr. Smith: I’m originally from Oklahoma, my name is Dick Smith, Richard Smith, and came here to live in 1961, married a Guatemalan, and, of course, just supposed all my life that if I ever had any medical problems, serious medical problems, I would go be going back to the States to have them taken care of, but the more I knew about Guatemalan doctors, whom I had the pleasure, many doctors, had the pleasure of meeting, I was very impressed with, so many of them and more and more as I get older and older, I go to them and compare them to the doctors that I see in the States, who poor lads I think they have to really race through every patient because they have such bills to pay, such penalties facing them if anything goes wrong, that you begin to miss what you see here in Guatemala which is a wonderful doctor-patient relationship that I think is disappearing in the States because the doctors just don’t have the time, their financial situation is always pressing them. Interviewer: OK. Would you recommend Vision Integral? What has been your experience here? Mr. Smith: Would I ever!!! (Laughs…) I’ve been delighted by what I have know here, the doctor, it turns out, was a former brief student of mine in high school. I ask him very rapidly, before he started operating on my eye if I had given him a good grade… (Laughs…) and he lied that I had (laughs…). But, he’s one of those doctors that I was just mentioning, that I admire very much, that takes time with you, explains it all, and makes you feel very comfortable and confident going into an operation. And, I came here because he was recommended by his sister who was recommended to a delightful friend of ours. And, of course, that’s one of the wonderful things in Guatemala, it’s really a small community that they’re always looking for the best doctors and attention they can get and they gossip about it here in Guatemala, and you know, exactly where to go, and usually that gossip is quite correct. Interviewer: Good! Well… Mr. Smith: Yours is a place I would recommend (laughs…) very highly. Had a marvelous experience here. Interviewer: Ok. Well, thank you very much. Is there anything you want to add? Mr. Smith: Well, now I’m going to see a Throat Doctor because (laughs…) I get all choked up with emotion when I talk well of anybody ( laughs…) Thank you so much for thinking of me for this and certainly if anybody wants to direct any questions to me, I’ll be happy to answer them. I certainly would recommend your place. Interviewer: Well, Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

Dear Dr. Jorge Hernandez, I´m at work on assignment this week in Mexico City as I write this. I would have preferred to call you or tell you in person, but an email will have to do for now. I can´t get the date out of my mind. It was exactly a year ago that you performed surgery on my right eye and not a day has gone by since then without my being grateful for what you did. I constantly think about your patience and skill in working with me to do a procedure that, at long last, leaves me with improved vision, healthy eyes and the ability to continue my very active lifestyle without the frustration I was facing as my glaucoma worsened. I think back to when my primary ophthalmologist referred me to you; not because he wasn´t an excellent physician himself, but rather because he acknowledged that my case required a level of expertise and specialized skill that you are known for. Getting hit by elevated intraocular pressures at such high levels, for months on end and such a relatively young age was a shock to me. As you know, I was diagnosed and treated by my brother, also an eye specialist, in Texas until he also insisted that I seek out a surgical option while there was still time. Being in my early forties, very physically active, with a demanding career was motivation enough to seek you out. As we discussed surgical options and you listened to me describe my lifestyle, wearing hard contact lenses since I was a teen and unwilling to wear glasses, you seemed to relish the challenge of using your skills to perform the surgery so that after I healed I could resume wearing my regular contacts and go back to working and exercising as usual. Here I am, a year later, happily at work, being able to read a document on my lap, work off my computer screen or look up at something being projected on a wall across the room. My eyes are in great shape, my pressures are under control and my bleb is practically unnoticeable to anyone but me. My contacts never bother me. So, in a nutshell, one year later, here I am: greatly indebted to you for taking on this challenge and applying your surgical skills and wonderful empathy to resolving my out-of-control glaucoma in such a way as to enable me to go back to business and usual and almost forget what a terrible shock it was to think that I was facing blindness at such a young age. No mean feat to give someone back their life and livelihood!