Daily Tribune‘I could live with cataracts, Doc but I could not live another second with crossed-eyes.’
VIRGINIA de Guzman (left) with Tzu Chi Eye Center volunteer doctor Catherine Qui-Macaraig.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF TCMFP
Virginia de Guzman, 74, is the apple of her husband Miguel’s eyes throughout the 40 years of their marriage. She felt lucky having him as her lifelong partner despite her squint (banlag).
“I love her. I do not mind the way her eyes look at all. She is good-natured. That’s what matters,” said Miguel, according to the Tzu Chi Medical Foundation Philippines.
De Guzman’s misaligned right eye was attributed to a febrile seizure she suffered as a toddler. With her right eye turned outward, she was teased by others. It became her childhood dream to have it fixed though she learned to live with it as she fulfilled her duties as a mother and wife.
A friend mentioned to De Guzman the Tzu Chi Eye Center in Sta. Mesa, Manila that provides free eye surgery to those who cannot afford it. She grabbed the opportunity, visiting the charity hospital run by the Tzu Chi Medical Foundation Philippines.
At the Tzu Chi Eye Center, volunteer strabismus specialist Dr. Catherine Qui-Macaraig diagnosed De Guzman with cataracts and told her that fixing her squint would be delicate because of her advanced age.
The ophthalmologist asked De Guzman if she wanted to undergo a cataract removal operation.
“I could live with cataracts, Doc but I could not live another second with crossed eyes,” she replied.
It broke the eye specialist’s heart to learn the patient’s misery over her squint and longing for a remedy. The doctor decided to help De Guzman.
Macaraig knew that Virginia’s eye tissues, like most older patients, are now more friable, making an already complex surgery even more complicated, according to the Foundation.
“The conjunctiva, or the skin of our eyes, is very, very thin and breaks easily when we were doing the surgery,” Macaraig shared after the successful operation on 26 March.
De Guzman, who sells coconut juice drink with her husband at their home in Rizal province, was so thankful to the Tzu Chi Eye Center and its volunteer doctors.
“I am so happy that before I even leave this world, I have been given an opportunity to experience the joy of being confident, of no longer needing to hide and feel ashamed to face others,” she told the Foundation.
