Blog vol 4.43 WOW!! How AWEsome was that!
For a solar eclipse to happen and to be experienced many things have to align, literally: the sun, the moon, the clouds, the location, and the proper eye protection. The clouds did disperse in time, just.
On Monday in front of Burlington Eyecare at 3:00 pm EST, we stepped out our front door and donning our solar eclipse glasses, we experienced totality. Overused, but that was totally awesome!
We gave out 7500 pairs of eclipse glasses over the past few weeks to schools and patients and then waited. Instead of payment for the glasses, we collected donations, and we raised $3000 for our Medical Missions International (MMI) hospital boat, the Mau Ipata, (Learn more here) another totally awesome. A BIG thank you to the front desk and our patients for your fine and generous support of this cause.
Now the dark underside, eye injuries from looking at the sun unprotected. The internet was deluged with Google searches immediately after the event, see chart. That was fascinating to see. We received several calls and had emergency visits with patients on Tuesday, but thankfully, no permanent damage.
The dilated pupils, from the dim lighting, allow a lot more light in and increase the risk of solar burns. Symptoms, such as eye pain or vision changes, appear within hours or days of the injury, and anyone experiencing symptoms should seek medical attention immediately.
The other dark side is that all these glasses we gave out to shield our eyes end up in landfill sites, not very environmentally responsible. A solution. The good people of Southern Chile and Argentina are going to experience totality on October 2, 2024. My front staff are collecting the used glasses to be sent down to South America for this event.
Stop by the office and drop off your solar eclipse glasses. Do not throw them out, let someone else safely experience totality.
An event like the eclipse gives us a greater appreciation for the outdoors, for nature, for taking care of our planet… just for the wonder of it all.
Again, that was TOTALLY AWEsome!!!
Til next week,
The good doctor
