Dr. "Bud" Falkenhain saves sight

Following in his father’s footsteps, Dr. V. E. ‘Bud’ Falkenhain, 72, of Rolla, is still helping people see the world.

He and his wife, Linda, of 49 years, have taken 45 trips to 23 different countries since 1977 and have seen almost 200,000 patients.

“Each trip has been a life-changing experience,” said Falkenhain, an optometrist.

His family has grown up with the trips. Each of his four children have gone at least once to help. He is now waiting for his nine grandchildren to be old enough to go and share the experience.

Falkenhain is part of VOSH, Volunteer Opticians Service to Humanity. He served as the president of VOSH International in 1980.

The organization helps doctors travel to other countries to provide eye care. He has seen everything from cataracts, glaucoma and even eye diseases no longer seen in the United States.

Falkenhain has been on trips when eye surgeons, neurosurgeons, dentists and physicians have all gone to help. However, he believes it works best when it is an eye-team project.

The team has found eye diseases that have been left untreated for so long, the conditions which develop are seldom seen by American physicians.

They have seen several cases of trachoma, a condition they have had to call the World Health Organization to report, which, when left untreated, can lead to blindness.

According to wikipedia.org, trachoma had been all but eliminated from much of the developed world in the last century. But, communities without adequate access to water and sanitation are still battling the disease.

“There are usually 12-15 people on a team,” said Falkenhain. “We have had as many as 30. But everyone who goes, works.”

Used glasses are gathered from the community and through the Lions Club for the trips. Falkenhain now has enough contact within the optical community to take new glasses as well as used.
For his first trip, Falkenhain needed two things, two weeks and 500 pairs of glasses. According to Falkenhain, it was no problem to come up with either. So, he took his first trip in 1977.

Falkenhain has taken as many as three trips in a year when he began. He currently takes one, and according to him, he wants to make it count.

“The world has seemed to shrink since 1977,” said Falkenhain. “On the trips back to some of the countries I have seen such a change. It is no longer just poverty, but poverty with hope.”

The group is hosted by ministries or other organizations within the country they are visiting. The host group is asked to provide transportation, a noon meal and patients.

The doctors are expected to see a minimum of 100 patients a day. They sometimes will see as many as 150 to 200 a day.

“There have been times when over 1,000 people will show up,” said Falkenhain. “They will just sleep in line to save their place so they can be seen the following day. We have even had to have the military provide protection because the crowd just gets out of hand.”

Many of the places now have wells, TV and radio they did not have before, according to Falkenhain. They are making strides, but still have a long way to go.

One of the adventures Falkenhain talks about is the food. He has had the opportunity to try many things. He has tried fried tarantula, moss, snake and guinea pig soup.

“These are foods the local people eat every day,” he said.
He is planning to travel back to Ecuador in February. He has been there twice before and is looking forward to seeing the changes.

“Probably, the saddest experience was during a trip to Uganda,” Falkenhain said. “A man had carried his son, who looked to be 12-15 years old, for many miles and he wanted us to cure him. When we told him we could not, he looked confused and said, but you can make a man walk on the moon.”

The desperation of the people being treated comes out in every story Falkenhain tells, but with the desperation there is education and hope.

Falkenhain said everyone should experience what it is like to volunteer. Not everyone has to travel around the world. You can volunteer in your own community. Get out and get involved, he said.

“Look outside yourself,” said Falkenhain. “Find something to do. Help the elderly, coach kids in baseball, soccer, basketball, just help your fellow man in any way you can.”