| In Cuba, bartering eye care to regional neighbors strains health ...
A spiffy new tour bus pulled up to the top eye hospital in Cuba on a sunny day this month and disgorged 47 working-class people from El Salvador, many of whom could barely see because they had thick cataracts in their eyes. Among them were Francisca Antonia Guevara, a 74-year-old homemaker from Ciudad Delgado whose world was a blur. She said she had visited an eye doctor in her home country but could not even pay the $200 needed for artificial lens implants, much less for the surgery. "As someone of few resources, I couldn't afford it," she said. "With the bad economic situation we have there, how are we going to afford this?" Cuba's economy is not exactly booming either, yet within two hours Guevara's cataracts were excised and the lenses implanted, with the Cuban government paying for everything - including air transportation, housing, food and even the follow-up care.
A Lighter, Defter Touch
Although LASIK remains the laser eye surgery of choice, in the past few years, more eye surgeons have been performing a procedure called photorefractive keratectomy (PRK). In some cases, they are turning away from LASIK entirely, say experts. New Material Makes Contacts Safer, Comfier There's New Hope for People With Age-Related Macular Degeneration High-Tech Tools Promise Independence to the Visually Impaired PDAs, BlackBerrys—the Little Devices That Rule Our Lives Also Play Havoc With Our Vision. How to Cope .
Sandbags save homes as floods hit Yorkshire
Relentless rain overwhelmed flood defences in Yorkshire again yesterday, bursting river banks in central Leeds and forcing firefighters to evacuate hundreds of people from their homes and businesses. Road links in the region were cut and rail tracks flooded, closing down lines between Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and York at one stage. The Environment Agency last night issued 116 flood warnings and 15 severe flood warnings as minor streams rose by up to three metres (10ft). .
Eli, Giants will probably prove me wrong
They have won a record 10 straight road games this season, so why can't they go on the road again and win? I mean, the Giants have played their best football on the road. Eli hasn't thrown an interception in three straight road playoff games. He threw the ball much better in Lambeau than Favre did on Sunday and Brett practiced with frozen footballs all week. I question the Green Bay game plan a little bit. They opened in a passing offense; it was like Mike McCarthy figured New York would be geared up to stop Ryan Grant. McCarthy tried to get Grant going in the second half, but by then the Giants were building momentum and taking control of the game. They weren't going away and the Packers knew it. I really think the cold weather got to Brett more than it did Eli. I kept catching Brett stuff those hand-warmer packages around his face.
Where is it safe to walk the streets?
It happened on the road I walk from the station to my flat, so any time I was out in town, it was something in the back of my mind throughout the evening. "That stuck around for years. When I was making plans with people I would be thinking: 'That seems like something I want to do but it will mean coming home in the dark. Will I get a cab? Will I walk it? "If someone spontaneously phoned me up and asked if I wanted to do something that evening, I would struggle. It was only a 4 cab from the station but when I did that I felt a bit pathetic, like it was an admission of weakness." It is experiences like this, multiplied by their telling to friends and media coverage, and magnified by our fascination with the sinister, which shape fears and behaviour. But is it really so different abroad? A straw poll of people living in diverse inner-city areas in some of the other cities mentioned by Mr Davis suggests not.
Update: Man trapped under lorry in Tooting
I saw the guy crossing over the road, then crossing again and the crossing back," he said. Mr Drif added: "When it happened, everyone rushed outside and we saw the guy lying in the road. It looked like the wheel had run over him." Anyone with information should call the Met's Collision Investigation Unit based at Hampton Traffic Garage on 020 8247 6935 For travel and traffic updates click here. 3:48pm today Print Email this Comment .b_box { border: 1px solid #D7D7D7; background-color: #EEEEEE; color: #000000; padding: 5px; width: 307px; } .b_box img { border: 1px solid #D7D7D7; padding: 5px; background-color: #ffffff; } .b_box a, .b_box a:visited .b_box a:active { color: #000000 !important; } .b_box a:hover { color: #FF0000 !important; } .msg_div { padding: 0px; width: 307px; clear: left; } .entry { border-left: 1px solid #D7D7D7; border-right: 1px solid #D7D7D7; padding: 5px; width: 307px; } .entry2 { border-left: 1px solid #D7D7D7; border-right: 1px solid #D7D7D7; padding: 5px; min-height: 80px; } .b_entry { border-left: 1px solid #D7D7D7; border-right: 1px solid #D7D7D7; border-bottom: 1px solid #D7D7D7; padding: 5px; width: 307px; } fieldset { margin-top: 10px; border: 1px solid #D7D7D7; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding: 0px; } legend { padding: 2px 6px; color: #000000; background: #EEEEEE; border: 1px solid #D7D7D7; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 10px; } .headcell { text-align: center; color: #000000; background: #EEEEEE; border-bottom: 1px solid #D7D7D7; } .headcell a:link, .headcell a:visited, .headcell a:active { color: #000000; } .headcell a:hover { color: #FF0000; } .caltab { border: 1px solid #D7D7D7; margin-top: 5px; } .year_daycell { text-decoration: underline; text-align: center; } .year_fullcell { background: #EEEEEE; border: 1px solid #D7D7D7; } blockquote { border: 2px outset #D7D7D7; } .buttonclass { background: #EEEEEE; color: #000000; } .
Vision quest
Orthoptics comes from the words orth, meaning straight, and optics, which refers to the eyes. Orthoptics, strictly speaking, is the straightening of the eye or, in clinical parlance, the study of the overall well-being of the eyes. The British are known in this profession the world over. An orthopticians job is basically to determine whether surgery is needed before a patient is referred to an ophthalmologist. Therefore, an orthoptician is an important and indispensable element in all eye cases. Thats how it is done the British way. Their American counterparts, however, are regarded as mere aides to ophthalmologists as they cant even read the very tests they conducted. It is for this reason that the lone practicing orthoptician in the country, Dr. Cynthia del Mundo, completed and took up her studies in Great Britain.
Health and fitness calendar
Free seminar topics will include estate and gift tax issues, income tax issues, record retention guidelines, inheritance tax issues and wills. Guest speakers include a CPA and an attorney. Space is limited. Pre-register by Feb. 13, 240-566-3030. Hospice of Frederick County faith community liaison program, Feb. 19, 6 p.m., Hospice, 516 Trail Ave., Suite C, Frederick. Role of this volunteer is to inform and educate their congregation on Hospice. To register, call Jen Dickson at 240-566-3038 or e-mail jdickson@fmh.org. Basic first-aid instruction, Feb. 19, 6:30 p.m., HealthFirst Enterprises. $. 301-473-5670. Adult, child and infant CPR with basic first aid classes, Feb. 26 and March 27, 6:30 p.m., HealthFirst, Frederick. $. 301-473-5670. Support groups MSCapaders, MS support group, meets the first Monday of the month, 6:30 p.m., Roy Rogers, (off Md.
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