FRIDAYSEPTEMBER26
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WAIT AND SEE?
Year-long wait for cataract surgery endemic to the North
Teresa Mallam arts@pgfreepress.com Ruth Keiss, 76, fears she will lose her much cherished independence while she waits one year for cataract surgery. Her cataract condition was diagnosed earlier this year. “In April, I went to the optometrist because I was having some difficulty seeing, especially at night. An eye exam showed I have ‘fully ripe’ cataracts and I was just two letters away from losing my driver’s license. If you fail to read a certain number of letters on the chart there’s a chance you can be deemed unfit to drive.” Keiss no longer drives at night, by choice. And she’s making adjustments to her busy life to accommodate her failing eyesight. She is also lobbying for changes she hopes will help other people facing long wait times for cataract surgeries. She hopes that her vision will be fully restored and along with that, her enjoyment of using the computer, reading books and doing her community volunteer work. “My optometrist tells me cataracts grow ‘very slowly’ but I still worry about my eyesight getting worse while I wait for surgery. I live alone. I like and I do have an active, independent life. I don’t want that to change.” Keiss was referred to an opthamologist on July 21. She was told she could have her surgery at UHNBC – which has three qualified cataract surgeons. But then she would be on a patient wait list for up to a year before her surgery. First on one eye, then later on the other. Since her first interview with the Free Press in August, she has found another opthamologist in Abbotsford and CONTINUED ON PAGE
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