102-year-old granny gets gift of sight
A 102-year-old Chatsworth woman’s eyesight has been restored after she went blind just before Mother’s Day.
|||Durban - A 102-year-old Chatsworth woman’s eyesight has been restored after she went blind just before Mother’s Day.
Rookmoney Munsamy, who underwent cataract surgery on Friday, had been having difficulty seeing for the past six years, but things got worse earlier this year and she went completely blind last month.
A day after the surgery, performed by ophthalmologist Dr Farouk Moosa at Netcare Parklands Hospital, Munsamy surprised family at home by describing in detail what they were wearing.
Her children and grandchildren had grown concerned when they noticed she could no longer see them, recognising them instead by their voices.
One of Munsamy`s granddaughters, Cheryl Garibdass, who lives in Texas, US, sponsored the operation, which cost close to R18 000.
Munsamy, who was born in Durban, is looked after by her three surviving daughters.
In her lifetime she has lost three sons and two daughters. She has many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Munsamy said she was deeply sad when she lost her sight and had prayed with her daughter, Gracie Pillay, to get better.
Pillay, 75, said her mother lost her sight a couple of days before Mother’s Day last month, preventing her from doing everyday “things like get drinking water from the kitchen”.
“I took it very badly,” Pillay said, adding that being sickly herself had made things harder.
After surgery to her left eye, Munsamy slowly began to get her sight back.
It took her about two days to be able to see anything, she said.
She said the first thing she saw was her son-in-law.
On the restoration of sight to one eye, Munsamy said: “I am feeling all right now. I am happy.”
Pillay said her mother, who would be going for a check-up by the end of the week, had gained a deeper appreciation for her eyesight.
She must now have surgery to her right eye.
Ophthalmologist Dr Shabnam Aghdasi said cataracts were a preventable and common cause of blindness in Africa. Aghdasi said cataracts were commonly caused by the ageing process.
Other causes included diabetes, heavy steroid use and trauma.
Symptoms of cataracts include developing cloudy vision, glare when driving at night and decrease in contrast in the eyes.
She said the lens, which used to be crystal clear before the onset of the cataract, was removed through surgery.
One of the ways it could be removed was through the use of ultrasound.
Aghdasi said a local anaesthetic was injected into the area around the eye before the surgery. Ultrasound vibrations broke up the cataract and it was then suctioned up.
She said that an artificial intraocular lens was then inserted into the eye.
The lens that is inserted is measured before the surgery to ensure it is the correct size.
After the surgery she said the patient was given drops to treat the eyes. The drops normally consist of anti-inflammatory, steroids antibiotics.
Provided there was nothing else wrong with the eyes, there was a 99.5% success rate, she said.
Some patients were given glasses afterwards. Aghdasi said results of the surgery could be seen almost immediately after the patient had removed the bandages.
Daily News