Cindy Walters
“To most people, cataract surgery is just a routine thing. But for me it was life-changing."
Photo: Anne Fishbein
Cindy Walters kept getting bad news.
She had been struggling with glaucoma almost all her life. In 2011, she suddenly lost all vision in her right eye. Lacking insurance, she went to her local county hospital. She had three surgeries there for a detached retina. None of them was successful, and she says the surgeon also removed the lens without telling her. She waited for her vision to return, but nothing happened.
The next year she went to a retinal specialist, who gave her more bad news: she was in danger of losing vision in her left eye as well, due to optic nerve damage and glaucoma. Then the retina became detached in that eye as well. She was now completely blind. She could no longer perform her work; she could not drive; she lost all mobility.
After surgery to reattach her retina, Cindy began to regain some of her vision. But then more bad news: she had a rapidly growing cataract.
By this time, she had exhausted all her resources. But the specialist directed her to LSH, and she was quickly approved for assistance. The cataract surgery was successful, and Cindy began gradually to regain her sight. Last spring, she was able to drive again.
“In November of last year I was seeing 20/30, which I never thought I would see again,” Cindy told us.
In the meantime, Cindy has started her own business. “It’s doing well,” she says. “The business has grown by 25 percent since I opened.
“I’ve had some challenges, but when I think back to how desperate things looked when I lost my sight, it was a pretty bleak time.”
Cindy says she’ll never lose her gratitude for the help she got from LSH.
“To most people, cataract surgery is just a routine thing. But for me it was life-changing. It was a total miracle.”
