This is the emotional moment a blind man in the Philippines was able to see again for the first time in nearly two decades thanks to an operation that took just seven minutes.
The senior citizen, 65, started suffering from cataracts more than two decades ago before losing his sight in both eyes.
However, kind locals and a charity paid for him to finally have surgery at a clinic in Pampanga province, the Philippines, on March 12.
The operation took just seven minutes. Incredibly, he was able to see again after coming round and burst into tears at the International Eye Center.
Proud doctor Noel Lacsamana said: ‘It was a very special moment. The patient was able to see again after all those years.’
The emotional patient shook the hands of his doctor and went to hug him while saying thank you to the specialist.
Nurses guided the old man through the operating room as his legs were still wobbly from the anesthesia. They gave him a card with words to read bearing his doctor’s name to check if he was able to focus his eyesight. He read it successfully.
As the old man walked out of the room with the help of the medics, he was cheering in delight while talking to the doctor. He was then taken to a room where his wife was waiting for him before one of the nurses cleaned her face with a towel.
Speaking in the video, the emotional senior citizen says: ‘God put knowledge in people to help others and do good. Thank you to our Lord and also to you, Doctor Noel, too. Remember God created us in his image to worship the Lord and do good.’
The patient’s wife, who could not stop herself from crying, said they heard about the wonder doctor through a radio program.
She said: ‘My husband first lost his vision in his right eye, then slowly lost the vision in his left eye, too. I almost gave up hope that I would ever be able to see again.
‘He did not want to go to other specialists, only here because people said this place is the best. We heard about the doctor through a radio program and my husband became hopeful that he could see again.’
Doctor Noel Lacsamana congratulated the man, who could still not believe that he was able to see again after almost two decades.
The medic, who has been in the profession for 16 years, said the patient stood upright after the operation to explore the room.
He said: ‘Right after being operated on, this man could see again after 19 years in the dark. Only God can heal, I am just his instrument.
‘I used to work in big hospitals but decided to open up my own clinic in my hometown to give back because I studied medical school through a full-scholarship.
‘More than 60 per cent of my patients are charity cases, most of them are senior citizens travelling by bus from capital city Manila to my clinic in the province.’
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