Ten years ago, Esther – who lives in the village of Sitet, in Nandi County, Kenya – was chopping firewood when a log bounced and hit her left eye. The pain was sharp and immediate.
A week later, she went to the nearest hospital, where she received medication to manage the worsening pain and a referral to an eye hospital. But by then, her resources were spent. Out of money, she went home. The vision in her left eye never recovered.
She managed with her one good eye until three years ago, when she noticed the vision in her right eye was blurring. Soon, everyday tasks like picking coffee beans, cooking and walking to church became impossible.
“I felt like a burden to my daughter,” she says. “She had to leave her home to stay with me and help. At some point, I just wanted to die… I didn’t want to hold her back from her life.”
But one day, hope arrived in the form of a young man named Simon who knocked on Esther’s door. As a community health promoter we’d trained in primary eye care, Simon encouraged Esther to visit an upcoming eye screening camp we were organizing along with Meteitei Sub-County Hospital.
At the camp, doctors said that unfortunately her left eye was permanently damaged, but they could restore vision in her right eye. At 85 years old, Esther was scared of getting cataract surgery due to her age, but she was determined to reclaim her life. Thanks to our partner Johnson & Johnson, her operation was free.
The day after her surgery Esther experienced a moment she’ll never forget.
“They removed the bandage… and I could see!” she recalls. “I couldn’t believe it. I saw my daughter’s face again. I saw the sun. I saw my home.”
Now she’s back to her daily life – picking coffee, going to market and attending church. Her message is clear: “Please go. Don’t be afraid. The surgery is not painful. You will see again, just like me. I thank the doctors. I thank the donors and Operation Eyesight, and I thank God.”
Your support helps us provide more sight-restoring surgeries for people like Esther!
With files from: Lister Barasa Maskika, MIS/MEL Officer, Kenya
