COVID-19 has made it more difficult for many to get the glasses they need. But for one mother and son, recent events have only compounded challenges on the road to clear sight that started long ago.

Picture this: You’ve had the same pair of glasses for 30 years. Of course, your eyes have changed quite a bit since you got them so they’re not as useful as they used to be. Not to mention they have been broken for a long time now, held together at the temple by wire. And still you have had to get up every day to raise your son, try to drive as safely as possible, focus at work, and navigate daily life. You have tried every angle you can think of to get help with an updated prescription and a new pair of glasses, with no luck.

Or this: You’ve worked hard to be the first in your family to continue your education beyond high school. But you can’t see well to do the schoolwork required. Years pass by. You know you need glasses and you just have never been able to get them.

Finally, some hope. A volunteer in your community takes notice of your family’s need and reaches out to OneSight for help.

With COVID restrictions making it difficult for us to serve patients in person, the OneSight team worked with that local volunteer to take some creative action to get mother and son the glasses they have needed for so long. It was a perfect fit of need and know-how: when the obstacles seem to keep stacking up, that’s when we know we’re in our element. 

First, the patients had some specific fit needs that the team needed to solve for when they were selecting the right frames. OneSight Manager of Global Fulfillment, Dawid Drozdz, says, “One of the most important parts of having a great pair of glasses is making sure they fit. There’s a cosmetic component to making sure the Rx selected will work with the frame but there is also a piece in making sure the measurements are as accurate as possible for the vision to be at its clearest. Since part of this process was done remotely we had to get creative in how we were going to capture this crucial bit of information. I provided a detailed set of instructions, with visuals, to help the patients capture their own pupillary distances.” 
Next, OneSight Warehouse Manager Bobbie Ortiz stepped in. “I had the pleasure of assisting with the fit, cosmetics and manufacturing of the glasses,” she said. “While I love to look through frames and help find the perfect frame for each individual this specific task was unique. With COVID-19 going on I am the only one on my team that has access to the building. I have a specific time that I may enter and have to have my temperature taken before I can start my work day. That, combined with limited information available about the style and sizes that would work for them.” 

 With the right frames in hand, it took the team just 35 minutes to make two perfect pairs of glasses. And they were so glad to be able to impact these two lives despite the physical distance between them. 

That’s one of the amazing ways that giving glasses works—you don’t have to see the person you’re helping to know the care you’re providing will change things for them in a big way. 

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