Good Morning Angels: The gift of sight for Elsie and 130 state patients
80% of all blindness is preventable and one of the most common causes of treatable blindness or impaired vision is cataracts - a cloudy layer that forms on the eye lens.
BACKGROUND: Because cataracts form over time, it is usually associated with old age. In reality, cataracts are the leading cause of avoidable blindness in children, too. Cataract surgery is quick and mostly successful, but costly - up to R30,000 per eye in private facilities, while waiting lists in State Hospitals are at least three years long.
Elsie Ndinisa, 66, is a mother of two adult children from Soshanguve. She is a pensioner and lives with her son, Gladwin. Like so many families, they rely on her state pension and a government unemployment grant, as no one in the household is currently employed.
Gladwin is very worried about his mom. She has been going blind gradually. They scraped together money to consult an Ophthalmologist - who advised that Elsie had cataracts. Removing these would take as little as half an hour, but at a cost of R30,000 per eye, they simply don’t have the means.
That’s why Gladwyn wrote to Good Morning Angels - who referred him to Operation Healing Hands for consideration for their annual Eye Week in October. During Eye Week, selected state patients are assisted free of charge with cataract removal. They also host an eye clinic, where 100 people will get eye tests, glasses, and prescription glasses free of charge.
REQUEST FOR: 66-year-old Elsie Ndinisa from Soshanguve
REQUEST FROM: Gladwin Ndinisa
ANGEL 1: Dr. Marcel Niemandt, Ophthalmologist responsible for Operation Healing Hands Eye Week
SPONSORING: Dr. Marcel Niemandt will be performing Elsie’s cataract removal, as well as all the other 32 patients at the Intercare Hazeldean Day Hospital as part of Operation Healing Hands' Eye Week.
ANGEL 2: The Good Morning Angels Fund NPC
SPONSORING: The GMA Fund will donate R30,000 towards Elsie and the other 32 patient’s cataract removals. That is the normal cost for one cataract operation, but because the doctors and medical staff are giving their time and skills for free and with the help of sponsors, the cost per operation is only R3,000 - that means Elsie and another 10 people can be assisted.
The GMA Fund will also help Elsie and Gladwyn and their family with R10,000 for groceries, transport, and other necessities.
ANGEL 3: Chantelle Toerien, Regional Manager of Zeiss - world leader in lenses
SPONSORING: The leading International Lens manufacturer, Carl Zeiss, is turning 175 this year and in celebration, ZEISS Vision Care (ZA) will donate 175 pairs of specialised spectacle lenses and frames as well as R20,000 towards Operation Healing Hands Eye Week!
MORE INFORMATION: ZEISS VISION CARE (ZA)
ORIGINAL REQUEST:
Good Day Morning Angels
My name is Gladwin Ndinisa , I am 46 years old and am currently unemployed.
I am writing to request assistance for my mother, Elsie Ndinisa who is a pensioner and needs to go for a surgery to remove cataract on both eyes. We have been to the Pretoria Eye Institute to get her checked and the doctor, and an Ophthalmologist needs R60 000 to perform the operation.
I wish to enlist your assistance in this regard as we cannot afford to pay for the surgery.
Your assistance in this regard will be highly appreciated.
Thank You
Kind Regards
Gladwin Ndinisa