Future looking brighter for Eldos teen

Chester van Zyl next his mother Ren Russell from Elderado park before he goes to theatre at VisionMed for his Cornea transplant after he sufferd from a degenarative eye condition called Keratoconus.482 Photo: Matthews Baloyi 05/11/2015

Chester van Zyl next his mother Ren Russell from Elderado park before he goes to theatre at VisionMed for his Cornea transplant after he sufferd from a degenarative eye condition called Keratoconus.482 Photo: Matthews Baloyi 05/11/2015

Published Nov 6, 2015

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Johannesburg - Chester van Zyl, the Eldorado Park teenager with the degenerative eye disease keratoconus, emerged groggy and with an eye patch from his cornea transplant on Thursday night.

The 16-year-old’s concerned and excited family members swarmed around him while the nurses helped him recover from the anaesthetic.

What started with eye problems at the age of 3 and was diagnosed as keratoconus four years ago, culminated in a cornea transplant on Chester’s right eye at the Visiomed Eye Laser Clinic.

Keratoconus is a disease that weakens the cornea, making it bulge forward, distorting vision and causing oversensitivity to light. The disease left him with 20 percent vision in his right eye and 60 percent in his left.

The past week has flown for Chester and his family.

Last week, The Star published a story about his plight.

Since then, readers have donated R57 205 and a director from the Gauteng Cornea and Eye Bank ensured he received a cornea for free.

Though Chester’s ophthalmologist had already agreed to perform the operation pro bono, Visiomed Eye Laser Clinic also waived the costs of the theatre and the anaesthetist.

Without the transplant, he’d have lost his vision completely.

The ophthalmologist, who performed the surgery on Thursday night and did not want to be named, was expected to meet with Chester on Friday to examine the eye and remove the patch.

He told The Star on Thursday night this was a “fresh start” for the boy, who has had to drop out of school due to his condition.

He added that although Chester’s vision would improve drastically, he may still have to wear spectacles or contact lenses and may need laser surgery at a later stage. Chester would also need to use special eye drops and abide by certain rules while his eye recovered.

The specialist said it was unlikely that he would feel pain after the operation, but the eye would feel scratchy and uncomfortable.

He would remove the stitches - which are finer than a human’s hair - in about nine months’ time.

Just before Chester was wheeled into surgery, his uncle Benjamin van Zyl said he planned to encourage the whole family to become organ donors now that his nephew had benefited.

“It would be selfish of us not to,” he said.

@Gabi_Falanga

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