Susan’s Story
“I could not see life… I missed seeing the faces of my grandchildren and children.”
Susan lives in the village of Bemzashen. She used to work in a sewing factory and had a wonderful husband but unfortunately now he has passed away. For the past year, Susan has not been able to see. “Due to cataracts, I lost my sight,” Susan said. “My eyesight was gone and I was in darkness.”
Susan couldn’t afford to travel to Yerevan for the cataract surgery she needed to regain her sight. She was left helpless. She had constant headaches, was unable to do work around her house and could not enjoy the beautiful faces of her children and grandchildren. “I was emotional and I would often cry,” she remembers. “I could not see life. I missed seeing the faces of my grandchildren and children.”
“Blindness is a terrible fate — with enormous personal, social and economic consequences,” says Dr. Roger Ohanesian, founder and president of the Armenian EyeCare Project. “But there are solutions. Eighty percent of blindness can be prevented or treated.”
Early in AECP’s work, our physicians learned that advanced eye care in Armenia had to be readily available, local and at no cost to those who could not afford the services they needed. Over 30 years later, AECP has developed several eye care facilities and programs throughout Armenia that address this need. This includes five Regional Eye Centers located in different provinces throughout Armenia, which make it easier for those in more remote regions of the country to access care.
Some patients in Armenia can support their own cost of care because they have the resources to pay their own way. This supports much of the operating costs at these clinics, which means these facilities are beginning to be self-sustaining.
Dr. Asatur Hovsepyan operated on Susan at the John Ohannes Khachigian AECP Regional Eye Center in Gyumri. Susan had advanced stage cataract, but Dr. Hovsepyan noted that the procedure went very well. The next day, Susan could see.
“Mom, can you see well? Can you see my face?” Susan’s daughter asked, following Susan’s surgery.
“Yes, my dear,” Susan replied. “Yes, I can see your beautiful eyes.”
Susan was in awe. “Everything was illuminated and bright,” she said. “My heart was extremely happy.” To the doctors and medical staff, she said “You opened my eyes!”
Susan’s life has completely turned around since regaining her sight. She can walk again. She is able to do work around her house. And best of all, she can see her beautiful family. “I have a new source of energy… I even talk more now!” she added with a laugh. “I can see everything now and I can extend a helping hand. With my sight, I can do anything.”
Susan is grateful to the doctors who gave Susan her vision back and to the donors who made her procedure a possibility. “I don’t live in the dark anymore,” she says. “I live a bright, happy life.”
