Mercy Muzumara with Dr. James Chodosh
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Blind Mother Gets Eyesight Back
Cutting-Edge Surgery Performed At Massachusetts Eye And Ear Infirmary
August 16, 2011
Click here to view a video of Mercy's Story
on TheBostonChannel.com
BOSTON -- For three years, Mercy Muzumara, a native of Zambia, has been blind, the result of severe and permanent scarring in her corneas caused by a rare, but debilitating, disease.
"At the time, I was like, ‘God, why is it that you’ve allowed this to happen to me?’ Maybe if I was born blind, I was going to take it. But not at this age, when I need to give so much care to my kids ... my family," said Muzumara.
A widow, Muzumara was desperate to see again so she could provide for her three children, ages 13, 8 and 7. But doctors back home told her there was nothing they could do.
"Maybe it’s better I die. I reached that extent," said Muzumara.
But then hope came from across the world. Doctors from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary heard her story and wanted to help, using cutting-edge technology developed right at the hospital.
"A keratoprosthesis is an artificial cornea," said Dr. James Chodosh, a surgeon and professor of ophthalmology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. "Because Mercy has no tears ... and so much scarred, she required a type 2 keratoprosthesis, in which case, there’s an interior nub or extension of the device, which is fashioned between the lids, which are closed around it."
The operation on her left eye took more than five hours to complete, but in the end, "the moment they removed it, I saw the medical personnel. I saw the white jackets. I was able to see the hair. I was able to see them walking about, and I was like, ‘wow!’" said Muzumara.
"Mercy’s back to normal vision today," said Chodosh.
And when she flies home this weekend, she’s looking forward to a new life with her kids.
"I can’t wait to do the meals for them, serve them, do laundry for them, sit down, and write the homework with them. I’m looking forward to that," said Muzumara.
Muzumara will require lifelong care back in Zambia to protect her new-found, and clearly cherished, vision.
Chodosh said more than a third of people develop complications two to five years after the initial operation that could rob them of their vision again without treatment.
Reprinted with permission from TheBostonChannel.com and WCVB-TV Boston.
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To view more stories like Mercy's, please visit www.YouTube.com/MassEyeAndEar
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