Tikale just after surgery

We operated and successfully implanted an artificial lens.  Tikale stayed with us in the hospital for nearly two weeks after surgery, so we could get all the drops in his eye, and check his vision regularly.

Already happy after surgery

He enjoyed hanging out at the hospital, and made a lot of friends as he was so full of renewed energy!

Tikale gettings ready to go home after surgery

On the same day a team went out to visit the villages, and drop off Tikale and his family, Sam spotted an elephant youth.

Baby elephant in the village

There used to be families of elephants roaming the Linthipe valley near Nkhoma even as recent as 25 years ago.  They have all moved on now.

We are blessed that there are still one or two around!

From the team at Nkhoma and on behalf of all the patients we serve, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2011!

In fact this is our busiest time of year.  We are sending our ambulances out to the south lakeshore.  A 4 hour 300 kilometre drive to do Wednesday and Saturday mobile clinics.  There is a great number of blind and severely visually impaired people in this area.

Mr Nyadani, in the village before coming to Nkhoma

Mr Nyadani was not blind, but couldn’t see his family and was failing to do much of the work on his farm and at home for the past two years.

Our wonderful mobile clinic team, and Isabelle the fantastic optometrist volunteer from Luxembourg met Mr Nyadani a few weeks ago.  He was diagnosed with cataracts and came in the ambulance to Nkhoma.

Mr Kambewa, Nkhoma Cataract Surgeon, operated both his eyes successfully, and after 4 days he was taken back to his home and family, with a great improvement in his vision.

4 weeks later we went back to his village and met him again.

Mr Nyadani, happily back with his family

It is quite amazing to have had the chance to visit his family and village a few weeks after his operation to restore his sight.  He was very happy in the hospital just before going home, but seeing him with his family at his home showed us the great happiness that he felt.

The power of one operation to restore one man’s vision was in the faces of his children and grandchildren, and of course in Mr Nyadani’s smile.  The power lay in his ability to return to work, and his happiness in taking back his full role in the close family and community.

We are coming very close to the day when 10 million cataract operations would have been carried out by CBM over the past 100 years.  I find that incredible;  that so many people, and also their families and communities have been given back their right to sight.