"Hundreds of thousands of cataract operations are impressive, but to change one person’s life with sight-restoring surgery is magnificent. That is the reason we do it.”
Dr. Peter Nash, ophthalmologist, Seva board member and legacy donor
Here is one story of a life changed through the gift of sight.
Tsering Dolma, age 72, has been a widow for many years. Although she has a son, he works far away so she lives alone. In her village in Tibet, she is the loneliest woman because all the other older women have some family members living with them.
Since 2008, Tsering Dolma’s vision deteriorated from cataracts, but she had no idea of the reason for this, which caused many problems in her life.
One day in the summer of 2009, Tsering Dolma was leaving her house to attend a village council meeting, and she fell down the stairs because her right eye was blind and her left eye had blurry vision. The fall seriously injured her knees, and she ended up bedridden for a month.
The following winter, it snowed a lot in her village and the streets were very slippery. Tsering was afraid of having another fall, so she decided to stay at home until it stopped snowing and the snow on the ground melted. The snow, however, didn’t melt that quickly. She was stuck in her house for seven days. She recalled, “During the seven days, I felt like a prisoner because I had nobody to talk to and I was completely isolated.” Tsering often believed that she had basic good health, but without eyesight she was powerless.
In January 2010, her son brought her to the Seva-supported eye hospital in Lhasa and Tsering’s sight was successfully restored. Tsering never expected that she would be able to see again and she was thankful that it actually happened to her. On leaving Lhasa to return to her village 1,700 kilometers away, she said she hoped to work in her barley field, visit her neighbors every day, and to travel to visit her son several times every few months. She smiled and said, “I won’t be a prisoner ever again, and I will be enjoying my life as much as I can!”
One day in the summer of 2009, Tsering Dolma was leaving her house to attend a village council meeting, and she fell down the stairs because her right eye was blind and her left eye had blurry vision. The fall seriously injured her knees, and she ended up bedridden for a month.
The following winter, it snowed a lot in her village and the streets were very slippery. Tsering was afraid of having another fall, so she decided to stay at home until it stopped snowing and the snow on the ground melted. The snow, however, didn’t melt that quickly. She was stuck in her house for seven days. She recalled, “During the seven days, I felt like a prisoner because I had nobody to talk to and I was completely isolated.” Tsering often believed that she had basic good health, but without eyesight she was powerless.
In January 2010, her son brought her to the Seva-supported eye hospital in Lhasa and Tsering’s sight was successfully restored. Tsering never expected that she would be able to see again and she was thankful that it actually happened to her. On leaving Lhasa to return to her village 1,700 kilometers away, she said she hoped to work in her barley field, visit her neighbors every day, and to travel to visit her son several times every few months. She smiled and said, “I won’t be a prisoner ever again, and I will be enjoying my life as much as I can!”
