74-year-old Nam “spends her free time visiting the pagoda and listening to monks pray,” shares our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC).
Nam is a married Cambodian woman with two sons, one daughter, and five grandchildren. Three years ago, Nam developed a cataract in each of her eyes. “This causes her blurred vision and tearing,” CSC explains. A cataract is the clouding of one’s eye lens. They are the most common cause of vision loss in people over 40 years old; in Cambodia alone, there are 22,000 new cases of cataract blindness each year. “It is hard to see everything clearly and do any of my work,” shares Nam.
For $225, Nam can undergo a phacoemulsification procedure to remove her cataracts and receive intraocular lens implants. This procedure should prevent her from becoming blind.
“Nam will be able to see everything clearly again,” CSC predicts.
Nam and her family are eager to see the results. “I hope my mother can see everything clearly again,” Nam’s daughter says, “so she can easily do any work and go anywhere outside by herself.”