By Daniel Massey
When Guyana’s first lady, Varshnie Uma Jagdeo, received a handwritten letter from a worried mother who neatly printed the plea “An appeal to save my son’s sight” across the top of the paper, she knew exactly where to turn.
She sent an e-mail describing the boy’s condition to Jeff Adler, a Richmond Hill optometrist who in 1999 traveled to Georgetown, Guyana with a team of eye doctors and set up a temporary clinic where more than 2,500 patients were treated in one week.
Adler reviewed the boy’s medical records and determined a condition that resulted in blindness in one of his eyes did not mean he was going to lose sight in the other. The relieved mother mailed a letter to Adler’s office, thanking him for giving her peace of mind.
“Whenever I have a case that alludes the facilities or expertise in Guyana I fax it to him and he personally responds in a timely fashion,” said Jagdeo, who is married to Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo. “He is very experienced and successful in his practice but has managed to retain a humanitarian spirit for those who can’t afford eye care.”
The relationship between Adler and Jagdeo, who runs a Guyana-based foundation for the needy called the Kids First Fund, stems from the doctor’s 1999 visit to the South American nation. Armed with 1,200 pairs of donated glasses, he helped more than 300 patients a day see things they had not been able to lay their eyes on in years.
“It’s an incredible feeling to have people pick up something and be able to see close for the first time in their adult lives,” said Adler, who lives in Oceanside, L.I. “The majority of the people were given reading glasses and for the first time were able to read their bibles.”
Patients flocked to the eye clinic, walking as far as 30 miles to line up at 4:30 a.m. to be seen by a doctor, Adler said. Now he is planning another trip to the South American nation, which is the homeland of so many of his patients in Richmond Hill.
“There’s a tremendous need in Guyana for all types of health care, but particularly eye care,” Adler said.
The strong Caribbean sun hastens the development of cataracts and also makes Guyanese people particularly susceptible to pterygium, a red patch that grows in the corner of the eye and spreads to the center if untreated, he said.
In addition to helping people see better, Adler’s Guyana mission had the unintended side effect of boosting his practice. Following the 1999 trip, business increased 58 percent as news about the clinic spread via articles in the local Caribbean press and word of mouth from patients he had seen in Guyana.
Community organizers estimate there are more than 40,000 Guyanese in the Richmond Hill area, most of whom still have links to their homeland. Adler described families who entered his practice at 126th Street and Hillside Avenue, handed him tattered business cards sent from Guyana and asked to be treated.
“The majority of my patients are from the Guyanese community,” he said. “They’ve been really good to me in the area and you have to give back.”
Adler’s commitment to service is not limited to his trips to Guyana. He sits on the board of directors of the South Queens Boys and Girls Club and provides free eye screenings to its young members. He works with local high schools, providing eye care to students who cannot afford to pay, and last year set up shop at PS 35 in Jamaica, where he screened students and was named “Principal for a Day” for his efforts.
Now Adler is looking for help from the community. Donations of glasses, cases and other optical equipment are needed for his upcoming trip to be successful. For more information or to make a donation, call 718-849-7773.
Reach reporter Daniel Massey by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 156.
