There’s just one thing: The diagnosing doctor, Dr. Aline de Araujo, is not at the hospital in Restinga. Instead, she’s sitting in a darkened room in the center of Porto Alegre, one-and-a-half hours away. An internet connection enables the doctor and patient to see each other on monitors allowing Dona Claudete see her test results on the screen in front of her.
When asked to read out N C V O Z in the middle row of the eye chart, it quickly becomes clear that Donna Claudete is suffering from presbyopia, an age-related change of her sight that has made it difficult for her to see sharp in near distances, for example for reading.
“Which is better?” asks Dr. Aline Araujo again and again as she remotely changes the lenses in the vision testing instrument. Dona looks intently into the device as if she were taking an exam. After 20 minutes, the doctor writes Dona Claudete a prescription remotely. At this particular moment, the vast distance seems to melt away. “Good luck with your new glasses,” says Dr. Aline Araujo. Dona Claudete says thank you, while attempting to hold back her tears of joy,