Johannesburg - Instead of giving the school a plaque or a trophy as a parting gift as is usually the case for Grade 12 pupils at St John’s College, this year the boys decided to do things differently.
The school’s caretaker, 58-year-old Morris Bila, was the recipient of the matric class’s parting gift when the pupils raised money to fund a procedure he had to undergo to rectify his diminishing eyesight.
Bila suffered from cataracts, a condition that clouds the eye’s lens and leads to impaired vision, but his condition was compounded by other health problems.
The matrics raised enough money to pay for an operation on one of his eyes, and when the Netcare Foundation, which co-ordinates Netcare’s corporate social investment programmes, heard about the boys’ efforts, it offered to fund the surgery for his other eye.
Dr Sachin Bawa, an ophthalmologist at Netcare Linkwood Hospital, who operated on Bila’s right eye in July, said: “Morris is not your usual, straightforward cataracts patient. He also suffers from a degenerative condition of the eye called asteroid hyalosis, more commonly referred to as floaters, and this condition adversely impacts his already impaired vision. In addition, Morris has diabetes, which also further limits his full visual potential.
“In spite of this, we were able to restore 30 percent of his vision through the surgery and he is absolutely thrilled with the results.”
Bila underwent the second operation on his left eye this week and it’s expected there will be a 30 to 50 percent improvement in this eye as well.
Bawa explained that cataracts, the leading cause of blindness in South Africa, can be caused by ageing, excessive exposure to ultraviolet light, an injury to the eye or even taking steroids, among other things.
He said the condition had a severe socio-economic and psychological impact on patients.
“Morris is only 58 years old. He is, therefore, of pre-retirement age and is still healthy enough to work and earn a living without relying on a government pension or social grant. When he visited my consulting rooms before his operation, he could barely walk and was in need of assistance because his vision was so badly impaired,” Bawa said.
Following the first procedure, Bila was able to perform his daily tasks such as eating, walking and dressing himself without any help and could continue working.
“I think the boys at St John’s College and the Netcare Foundation should be commended for not only giving Morris back his sight, but also for giving back his life,” Bawa said.
The Star