Eye specialists restore sight after 35 years

Lesley Nixon, 63, of Cleethorpes, lost the vision in her right eye when she was just 28 due to a cataract.

Despite several operations, her sight was not fully repaired, leaving her able to see shapes but not distinguish what they were.

Mrs Nixon said: “I was so self-conscious that I wore dark glasses all of the time. I hated the way people would stare. For years people told me there was nothing they could do. I gave up hope and with it my self-confidence nose-dived.”

Her sight was restored only after a cataract developed in her good eye and her ophthalmic surgeon Sid Goel, based at Grimsby hospital, told her he could repair her right eye using a lens implant followed by laser corrective surgery. She now has near perfect vision.

Mrs Nixon said: “My eyesight is better now than it has ever been. He has given me my freedom. I could never really see people’s faces with my right eye but I can now. Every day is a wonder for me as I can see something I had missed before.

“You realise how lovely things really are. Every day when I wake up the first thing I do is check I can still see. It’s made such a difference to my life.”