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Dr. Seal

“I recently applied to VISION USA for a free eye exam, and I was so pleased to receive (a certificate for) one in the mail,” Egan said. “It took me a month to make arrangements for a ride to the doctor’s office, but today I went and had my eyes examined by Dr. James Seal of Anderson, Indiana. I was all set to take my prescription home with me and begin the process of begging money from friends and relatives so that I could get a pair of glasses. At any rate, I don’t think you can imagine my absolute delight when I found out that glasses were included along with the eye exam. I almost cried.”

Dr. Seal said Egan’s was a fairly routine case in which she had too much astigmatism for over-the-counter reading glasses.

“She wasn’t one who could go to the drugstore,” he said. “So we got her some new bifocals, and she’s really happy with them. Our lab supplied the materials at no charge when we told them she was a VISION USA patient.”

Dr. Seal said Egan’s costs would have amounted to more than $200 if she was a standard patient, but she ended up not having to pay anything.

“I don’t remember exactly how I found out about the VISION USA program, and I know it’s because I didn’t really have any high hopes of receiving a free vision test,” said Egan. “When you are poor, you unfortunately get used to being told you ‘might’ qualify for certain benefits, and you do, and you apply, but then you are turned down for one reason or another. I remember talking with my sister last year, and we were discussing money, and she asked me what I would buy first if I came into a couple thousand dollars…I told her, ‘The first thing I would get is glasses.’ I guess that’s why I am so grateful to VISION USA and to Dr. Seal and Karla. Dr. Seal and Karla did not in the least make me feel like I was ‘poor’ and that I was so ‘lucky’ to have this eye exam. It was like I was doing something for them, not the other way around.”

Since Egan received her glasses, she has gotten back into what she was missing out on before.

“For one, I’ve been crocheting and reading, and I feel like a little kid with a new toy,” she said. “So far, I’ve read two Reader’s Digests (January and February 2009) and finished a novel I began about a year ago. I started on a doily, but that is slow-going only because my hands get sore now and not my eyes.”

Egan is grateful to Dr. Seal’s assistant, Karla, who helped her pick out her frames and has also provided free adjustments.

“She also told me that there are a lot of people whose names they receive from VISION USA who never call to make an appointment with them,” Egan said. “I feel so sad for those people.”

Egan is determined to get the word out about VISION USA to everyone she knows.

“I wrote about VISION USA in my blog, and I posted a link to the www.aoa.org site there, too, in case I have any readers who need glasses and are unaware of the program,” she said. “I have no way of knowing if any of them have gone to your site and applied for free eye exams, but I would bet there was at least one. I know my niece is going to apply.”

VISION USA and Dr. Seal have opened a new world to Egan, and she is extremely thankful.

“I am truly grateful to VISION USA for giving me back the ability to do the things I love so much,” she said. “I’m just haunted by the people who get certificates and never use them. Perhaps they don’t understand, like I didn’t, that (sometimes) glasses are included because, as Karla said, ‘It wouldn’t make much sense to give people free eye exams and then not provide them with glasses.’ God bless everyone associated with this program. It may seem like a small thing to you folks, but it’s made a huge difference in my life.”

Dr. Seal said the work he’s done is very gratifying and doesn’t take much time.

“One or two patients a month is not a problem,” he said. “And I think if you get a patient like Ruth who is really appreciative it just makes you feel good. We’ve always done work like this through the Lions Club or the schools,” said Dr. Seal. “I’ve always felt like this is something I could do. A lot of people are in a position in which they can’t afford necessities and they have to choose whether to take their medicine or eat.”

Dr. Seal has been in practice 42 years, the majority of which has been spent in Anderson, Ind. The town that once had 26,000 General Motors jobs now has none.

“This community is devastated because of the work availability,” said Dr. Seal. “There are a lot of people out there living on a strict budget. It’s great to be able to help once in a while, especially when it doesn’t hurt your bottom line.”

VISION USA serves the country’s working poor with the help of volunteer optometrists who provide free eye exams and corrective lenses when needed. A grant from the Alcon Foundation supports the work of 3,500 providers who have served more than 95,000 patients since 2001. To sign up as a VISION USA provider, e-mail visionusa@aoa.org.

VISION USA patient Ruth Egan gets back to crocheting after receiving a free eye exam and spectacles through the program.