George and Margaret: Life long love blooms

A special report from Brian Doolan, CEO

When we first met George and Margaret they sat together, hands clasped, shoulders pressed close, waiting to have their eyes examined.

The nurse held up one finger to George. “How many fingers?” she asked.

“Two,” he replied promptly.

Actually, he couldn't see a thing - that was pride speaking.

The doctor, James Maina, examined George's eye with a cheap silver torch, something like you and I might buy in a hardware store.

“This one is a very dense cataract - the left eye. So we will start with the left eye,” said Dr Maina.

He moved onto George’s wife, Margaret. She was having trouble working out which direction to look to see the chart the nurse was pointing at.

“This lady has cataract also,” observed the doctor.

Cataract is a blinding eye disease that causes half of all blindness in the developing world.

The good news is that it can be easily treated. Thanks to the pioneering efforts and determination of
Professor Fred Hollows, treatment of cataract is now a 20 minute operation that can cost as little as $25.

George and Margaret are from Elburgon, a small remote town about 40 km from Nakuru in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya.

When George speaks of Margaret his face lights up, and he shows the bond between them by placing his fingers lightly on her shoulder.

George is the mischievous entertainer, relating elaborate stories with a swish of his arthritic fingers.

Margaret is almost the opposite, sitting silently and smiling at her husband's tales. You can really sense her quiet strength.

Without sight, George and Margaret cannot care for themselves. And to their sorrow, they cannot see each other's face.

It’s a common story, shared by more than 40 million people living with blindness in the developing world - they face a difficult and uncertain future.

Their tragedy is all the greater because with the right treatment, 3 in 4 of those who are blind don't need to be.

Please help me change this.

A gift of as little as $25 can help restore the sight of a person blinded by cataract.

A gift of $80 will help buy up to 10 intraocular lenses (IOL). $250 can fund cataract surgery for up to 10 people. $500 can help restore the sight of as many as 20 people.

Your gift means we can continue to train sorely needed eye surgeons like Dr Maina, in Kenya and elsewhere.

We can fund services like that which identified George and Margaret's need for urgent surgery, in one of 18 developing countries in which we currently work.

Most importantly, your gift means we can restore sight to more people.

Fred Hollows, always said that, '...having a care and concern for others is the highest of the human qualities.'

I think he is right. In making a gift now, you will be demonstrating that quality.

As Dr Maina prepared the anaesthetic on operation day, he explained what he was about to do. Drops were placed in George's eye to dilate the pupil, making it easier to work on the eye. 

With a practicality born of necessity, a common tennis ball with a piece of string through it is used to apply pressure to the eye. The pressure slightly deflates the eye, which allows the doctor to work more effectively.

Dr Maina spoke quietly to Margaret as he injected the anaesthetic. She didn’t flinch.

The doctor removed George's tennis ball, and George disappeared with the nurse through the swinging doors into theatre. They were anxious at this brief separation.

When the cataract came out an IOL was inserted and Dr Maina taped a patch over George's eye.

Then Margaret was led into theatre to have her IOL inserted. The two crossed at the foot of the operating table.

Dr James Maina, was trained by The Fred Hollows Foundation and has now performed more than 5,000 cataract operations.

It is both sobering and impressive to consider that each one of these operations has a story just as powerful as that of George and Margaret’s.

The Nakuru clinic, where Dr Maina is located, was renovated by The Foundation, and is a base for operations throughout Kenya.

The day after the operation came the moment George and Margaret had been waiting for.

As the patches came off and the fog cleared, the look on their faces as they gazed upon each other was a joy to behold.

Now, after many years, they can see the faces they loved once again. And they can live independently, and not have to be tended twice daily by their daughter, Felistia.

Their smiles bloomed into full blown grins.

“Before I could not even see her face, but now I can,” said George tenderly.

This is the difference your donation makes. You are giving a powerful and important gift – not just sight but dignity, and independence.

You truly restore life, thank you.

View the photo slideshow for more photos of George and Margaret on their journey to regain sight, dignity and independence.