Blind dad given 20/20 vision
A BLIND dad given 20/20 vision by a miracle op said yesterday after seeing his kids for the first time: “It’s mindblowing.”
Beaming Steve Williams, 42, declared as he gazed at his little boys Lewis, five, and Leighton, two: “They are so beautiful.”
The father — almost totally blind for 21 years — added: “I’m seeing the world through new eyes... and it looks great to me.”
He was given his sight back thanks to pioneering surgery that used a dead donor’s eye tissue to fix his failing corneas and retinas.
Family man ... Steve Williams with fiancee and kids
BERNARD ASHTON
Overjoyed fiancee Marianne Vickers, 44, said of him also clapping eyes on HER for the first time: “I joke he might run off now he can see me clearly.
“When we met his vision was fading so he never really knew what I looked like.”
Steve was diagnosed as a child with the eye disease keratoconus — a degenerative genetic condition of the cornea that slowly robs sufferers of their vision.
Worse still, he was prone to allergies that fuelled the damage to his eyes by leaving his retinas scarred. By the age of 21 he was battling to make out anything at all.
Sons ... Leighton, two, and Lewis, five
BERNARD ASHTON
Marianne said: “I was a student working part-time in a bar and Steve would come in for a drink after work.
“I could see immediately his sight was poor — but he tried to cover it up because he was worried about losing his job as a removal man.”
She fell for him — even though before long he did have to give up work.
Marianne said: “Steve’s illness didn’t bother me — but friends would ask what I was doing with a blind man.
“They said I was taking on too much baggage.”
The couple set up home together. When their sons were born Marianne had to describe to him what they looked like. Steve, who was resigned to never seeing them, said: “It really upset me I couldn’t be a proper dad to them.
“I thought that I’d never be able to run around or play football with them.”
His life was transformed by Lancashire surgeon Mark Vose in a groundbreaking op at Preston Royal Hospital. Steve, who lives in nearby Bamber Bridge, recalled: “Everything was suddenly very bright.
“Seeing my own face was amazing. I could even make out the hairs up my nose.
“But seeing my boys’ faces was the best thing.
“It was almost as though they were newborn — and I was meeting them for the first time.”
He grinned: “Reading them a bedtime story or watching Star Wars films with them is just priceless.”
With his specs, Steve now has perfect vision in both eyes. He is planning to train as a nurse.
Consultant ophthalmologist Mr Vose used state of the art surgery techniques plus the latest breakthroughs in drugs to restore his sight.
He said of those who agree to donate organs: “It is thanks to them that I can carry out this procedure.”
No comments:
Post a Comment