Field Trip

Monday I went to Toms River, NJ instead of UB. I took a field trip to follow the vision center.  They needed help til their troops arrived on Tuesday!  So I was working the table outside helping people sign up for vision testing etc.  It was another chilly day in NJ  but we were busy with lots of patients!

I have not been down south since the hurricane hit NJ one month ago.  I talked with some of the locals to find out how they fared.  A mom with a 2 1/2 yr old stopped by on her was from work and school to get new glasses.  Her old ones were lost in the storm and she was wearing old back up glasses.  She was living in a hotel with her daughter and mom.  She said they were greatful to have a place to stay.  Their home was destroyed by the storm.  They will have many many months of rebuilding and waiting, waiting and waiting for help to get their lives back together. 

A husband and wife stopped by for glasses.  She lost her glasses and he had broken ones he was wearing.  They told how their home in Ortly Beach, NJ was flooded with 8 feet of water.  They only have access to their home every 3 days in order to keep the crowds down going onto the barrier island.  There is no power, gas or lights in their home or on the island.   The streets and beaches are patrolled by the National Guard - keeping looters away.  They have to start from scratch rebuilding their home once it is torn down.  We talked about how they are going to get through this. . . she said her husband beat cancer 3yrs ago - they will get through this.

A single woman came for help - she had something in her eye.  Many people are tearing their homes down and get stuff in their eyes.  She had a large piece of debris in her eye.  She was happy to be pain free and was sent away with drops!

I met a woman that had lost her job because of the storm.  She could not get to her job after the storm so she was let go.  I could see she was frustrated because she was not responsible for losing her car.  She did not ask the storm to flood her home and leave her homeless.  She did find out that she qualifies for a grant to go back to school. " Maybe I will be a physicians assistant!  I guess it was a blessing in disguise she said as she walked away." 

There is a pantry set up for food and supplies "The Peoples Pantry."  I love the local spirit - taking care of each other.  In the pantry there were clothes too - kind of a one stop for everything you need to survive after a hurricane. 

I saw 3 families that desperately needed glasses for their kids that had problems seeing the board in school.  Simple things we all forget.  Glasses for reading.  Four weeks without glasses for reading is a long time to a child that loves to read. 

I listened to their stories. . .the same stories that are heard in the hardest hit areas when Sandy visited the East Coast. 

As I drove home I peeked down streets to see peoples lives piled on the side of the road.  Piles of water logged things that had been collected over years and taken away in minutes.  These towns also know that things can be replaced.   

Like Union Beach their hope was watered down but not lost!  Their loving hearts have been bruised and battered like their homes but they have not lost sight of what is important - FAITH.  It is what keeps them going.