News

Reservists provide care in Paraguay

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Paul Haley
  • 446th Airlift Wing
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  More than 2,300 teeth were pulled and 1,000 eyeglasses handed out in Paraguay, courtesy of American military people, including two Reservists from the 446th Aerospace Medicine Squadron.
Working in temperatures averaging 105 degrees Fahrenheit, with 90 percent humidity, Master Sgt. James Clements an optometry technician, and Maj. (Dr.) George Gonzales, a dentist, deployed to Paraguay as part of an annual medical readiness training and evaluation exercise.
The annual humanitarian aid exercise provides medical and dental care to people in third world nations where such services usually aren’t easily accessible. The patients are so remote, they may have eye conditions not normally seen in the U.S., such as advanced glaucoma and cataracts, as well as serious traumatic eye injuries, said Sergeant Clements. However, he continued, the biggest challenge is the sheer number of people.
“It’s very intense,” he said. “They need someone with lots of experience in the eye care field.”
Experience in eye care as well as with this type of deployment is something Sergeant Clements has, including going to Belize as part of this exercise in 2005. For Major Gonzales, the deployment was a new experience.
“This was my first humanitarian mission,” said Major Gonzales, “but I can guarantee it won’t be my last.”
Providing dental care in primitive conditions was a tremendous experience, Major Gonzales said. The dental team, which included another American and two Paraguayan dentists, frequently performed extractions in buildings with dirt floors, sometimes without electricity.
“We had very little in the way of equipment,” he said. “We didn’t have dental chairs or any electrical equipment. It was incredible training in field dentistry; we had to relearn our techniques to adapt to the situation.”
Over the course of nine and a half days, Major Gonzales’ team saw more than 2,200 patients.
“We were doing very basic dentistry, mostly assembly-line extractions,” he said. “We weren’t set up for surgery. The best we could do for someone is a stitch after we pulled a tooth.”
Helping Paraguayans in a less painful way, Sergeant Clements passed out donated prescription glasses. But helping people see clearly was only part of the deal; preventing damage to eyes from a glaring sun was on the agenda too.
In addition to the 1,000 pairs of glasses, Sergeant Clements’ team handed out hundreds of sunglasses.
“There are a lot of people whose eyes have been damaged by the bright tropical sun. Sunglasses usually aren’t available, so we provide them when we can,” he said.
In addition to providing much-needed dental support, Major Gonzales also acted as tour guide and translator. The U.S. Ambassador and the Paraguayan minister of defense flew into the village they were working in one day, and asked for a tour. Since Major Gonzales is fluent in both English and Spanish, he showed the two dignitaries what the team was doing.