Perhaps Héctor Williams thought he would never again enjoy the sight of the faces of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchild. It was a real possibility when his vision began to blur and darken increasingly in a short time. He feared that they wouldn’t understand that the pillar of the family was becoming more dependent in his daily activities.

Concerned about the progression of his condition, he went to one of the clinics in Freeport, the second most important city in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, where he was diagnosed with cataracts, he said. At 77 years old and with this diagnosis, it seemed impossible to get treatment in his country due to the lack of sufficient income to afford the surgery.

Amid the uncertainty for him and his family, the possibility of having surgery in Cuba emerged, thanks to a special health program established by his country's government and the Ministry of Public Health of Cuba, aimed at benefiting low-income elderly Bahamians. There was hope for Williams!

Cuba and the Miracle of Vision

With detailed information about the process and after speaking with other fellow citizens who had already benefited, Héctor Williams completed the procedures and arrived in Cuba. From the moment he arrived at the airport, he received excellent care, which continued at the La Pradera International Health Center during pre-operative evaluations, and at the medical institution where the surgery was performed, as he told Destino Salud.

"I barely felt pain, but rather a growing sense of hope during the 20-minute surgery" — he said of the procedure at the Ramón Pando Ferrer Cuban Institute of Ophthalmology, a hospital with vast and renowned experience both nationally and internationally, due to the scientific and technical quality of its professionals.

Very satisfied with the care received at the institution and the ongoing follow-up by the nurses and assistants at La Pradera, who applied the ointments prescribed by the specialists, the elderly man from Freeport said that a few days after the operation, he was already seeing better. The doctors explained that after three or four weeks, his vision would improve even more.

Surely, now from his home in The Bahamas, Héctor Williams enjoys the faces of his wife, children, grandchildren, great-grandchild, and friends, and hopes that others too may experience “the miracle” of seeing again, thanks to Cuban healthcare.

By Beatriz Vaillant Rodríguez
Photos: Leonid Prado Taken from 
Revista Destino Salud