In a three-day surgery marathon at Pholosong Regional Hospital, a new patient was brought into the operating theater about every hour. By the end, 133 people had their sight restored.
Among them was 84-year-old Gladis Hoa. As a bandage on her right eye was peeled off, she reacted with delight and amazement. Hoa had cataract surgery a day earlier, and suddenly her world was back in view.
Cataracts are a common and often age-related problem where the eye’s lens becomes clouded.
“Blindness due to cataracts—cataract is a big problem in the country,” said a spokesperson, who noted the scale of the crisis. “You’ve got about 300,000 new cataracts every year in South Africa. So there are backlogs all over the country.”
Patients in South Africa’s public health service can face waiting lists for years for the relatively routine cataract operations. This campaign ended the long wait for 133 patients.
The surgeries insert a new artificial lens. For Hoa, that simple surgery equated to a major boost to her quality of life in her later years.
“I want to see—want also to see my grandchildren,” Hoa said. “Want to reach maybe 100 years in this planet. Yeah, I want to be around here. I want to see. I must also drive. I want to drive my car. Yeah, I’m driving. I want to also drive my car. And then I’m happy about this. I think this can be permanent. You can do this every month.”
Reflecting on her experience before the surgery, Hoa added: “I just wanted to see because this eye was closing. I could only see red. I couldn’t see anything through it. I would lift my hand but wouldn’t be able to see it. I decided, let me go for the operation. Although I’m already old, let me use the chance in this small amount of time God has given me.”
Globally, at least 2.2 billion people suffer from some kind of vision impairment, according to the World Health Organization.