Cataract Chronicles-25 years
As I celebrate my 25th year volunteering as an eye surgeon in Southeast Asia. I am delighted to share photos and stories about the vision challenges and the people and cultures of India, Nepal, Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. - Dr. Gary Barth
Chronicle 41 - Cataract Surgery Allowed this Young Woman to Regain her Station in Life
The large 300 surgeries a day Cataract Surgery Eye Camp’s “rule of only doing one eye” met its downfall with this young woman. She came to us blind in both eyes with white cataracts.
Her lament was that she was just about to reach the age at which, according to local rural Indian tradition, marriages would no longer be possible. Her parents could not find a suitable husband due to her cataracts.
We broke a rule, and she had surgery on the first eye on Tuesday.
When the results of the first eyer were splendid, she had the second eye done on Thursday
She was married and pregnant when I returned to the village the following year.
She had regained her rightful station in life. This outcome would not have happened if only one surgery had been performed.
Cataract surgery is more than vision restoration. It enables individuals and families to regain their dignity and participate fully in their family life.
