Donations to Optometry Giving Sight make an impact by giving sight to people in need through the projects we fund. One of the projects we support established the Pediatric Refractive Error Training Center (PRETC) in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Dr. Minh Anh Tran, an optometrist, educator and supervisor at PRETC, tells the story of how a young boy’s life changed because of this support:
“It has been a few months since I first examined a little boy called Kiet. He was six years old at the time he first visited me. His mother raised concerns about his ability to see in daily life. He had been diagnosed with a rare disease that his mother couldn’t name, but it badly affects his visual acuity.
I still recall his presence enlightening our clinic. He seemed so intelligent and active that I observed a very ordinary boy despite knowing his history.
I did a low vision assessment on Kiet to evaluate his visual function. Kiet has nystagmus, macular atrophy, and high myopic astigmatism. Due to the condition, his visual field was intact, but his central vision was impaired badly. He struggled to read, write, watch television, look across the street, and spot anyone from a distance. He needs light to read at near, even larger print. He can walk well in bright conditions.
After refining his glasses, the Teaching Assistants and I took out a series of low-vision devices for him to trial. His vision improved with a simple device, the telescope. This device magnifies the image to six times bigger and helps Kiet see objects from a distance. Kiet was overtly happy that he could now read what was far away. In fact he was ecstatic about it. I saw tears of joy in his mother’s eyes. That night, his mother texted me that she was so happy to see Kiet using the telescope and reading a letter on the community board. We call it ‘the moment’!
I am looking forward to seeing Kiet again in the next few months when the pandemic reduces; we can try other near devices that may benefit him even better.
The PRETC is where my students learn from all the cases we treat. I hope, like me, they enjoy ‘the moment’ with their patients. My best wishes to Kiet; I hope he studies well in school and will always be happy in life.”
Donations from people like YOU make the lives of people like Kiet’s much brighter. The Pediatric Refractive Error Training Center (PRETC) project in Hanoi, Vietnam is implemented by funding partner Brien Holden Foundation through funding from Optometry Giving Sight donors.
Stay tuned for more stories about the impact you are making every day.