Healdsburg eye doctor reports from the 7.7-magnitude earthquake

‘Postcard’ from Myanmar

‘MINGALABA’ Healdsburg’s Dr. Gary Barth offers the traditional Myanmar greeting to the women of a clinic, just days before the 7.7-magnitude earthquake rolled through the region. | Photo Courtesy of BBH Eye Foundation

By Dr. Gary Barth

Excerpt from the Healdsburg Tribune, April 9, 2025

I was flying from Nepal to Bangkok when the 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar. Mid-flight on March 28, news alerts began sounding. On landing, I learned that a massive earthquake had hit Myanmar, not far from where we had been working days earlier.

Just hours earlier, I had been in the Himalayas helping open BBH Eye Foundation’s 25th Primary Eye Care—our team had performed 100 cataract surgeries in 30 hours. One patient stood out: Deaf and blind for years, he walked unaided the next morning. The first thing he saw clearly was a small donation, held gently in his hands.

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https://www.healdsburgtribune.com/postcard-from-myanmar/