Eight years ago, a Makhanda high school pupil started experiencing problems with her eyesight.
Now she is about to graduate from Rhodes University after undergoing a rare and expensive medical procedure.
This is thanks to Good Samaritans from the Eastern Cape and the US.
Sinoxolo Hale, now 23, had a life-changing corneal transplant in August 2016 which enabled her to start and complete her Bachelor of Education degree.
She was in grade 11 when her life changed one morning.
“I woke up and went to school that day, but I could feel something was not right with one eye. I asked if I could go home.”
Sinoxolo caught a taxi to her grandmother’s work at Kingswood College to seek help.
Her worried grandmother took Sinoxolo to her manager, Sue Dowdle.
Dowdle’s friends in the medical field reached out to their counterparts and set the wheels in motion to help Sinoxolo to fully restore her sight.
She is still benefiting from the help given by Dowdle’s friends — Makhanda optometrist Dr Trevor Davies, Gqeberha-based ophthalmologist Dr Andrew Boliter and US-based Robert Austin.
An initial consultation took place in 2015 when her grandmother took her to Davies’s rooms.
He realised her cornea had prolapsed and that she needed immediate medical attention.
She was rushed to Gqeberha to see Boliter, who confirmed that her cornea had thinned to such an extent that it had prolapsed.
Boliter offered to perform a corneal transplant on Sinoxolo if Davies could source a cornea.
Given the lack of corneas available for state patients in SA, this seemed an impossible task, but then Davies contacted his American friend Austin who worked at a cornea bank in Denver, Colorado, and told him Sinoxolo’s story.
Sinoxolo had to wait for a year to receive a cornea so the transplant could take place.
Speaking to the Dispatch, Davies relayed the journey travelled so far with Sinoxolo.
“Robert Austin convinced the bank where he worked to find a matching cornea and donate it to Sinoxolo.
“The cornea was sent to Dr Boliter at the Eye Centre in East London, who performed the surgery in August 2016.
“Dr Boliter had offered his expertise, and there was funding from the newly launched Eiohn Hayes Foundation started by me last year in honour of optometrist Eiohn Hayes.”
An emotional Sinoxolo shared her joy with the Dispatch.
“My life changed after I received the transplant, and I was able to pursue my studies to become a teacher.”
Now she is due to receive a specialised contact lens to give the cornea more stability.
“I am so grateful for being able to receive the transplant through Dr Davies’s efforts.
“I feel honoured to be granted such an opportunity.
“I could never have been able to afford this procedure.
“It has afforded me a brighter future.
“I had a rejection in 2017, which I was told was normal.
“They said my corneal graft was looking good and I use prescribed eye drops every now and then.
“I do not have any challenges with the eye at this point.”
Davies said Sinoxolo had had her first fitting of the scleral lens earlier in February.
The money to purchase the lens would come from the Eiohn Hayes Foundation.
The lens is a specialised hard contact lens that covers the whole front of the eye to help support the transplanted cornea.
“It is so exciting for someone who could have been potentially blind and dependent on other people to see.
“When she graduates and becomes a teacher, she will be able to help others.
“The exciting part is I personally have done little but when we look at how much other people have done, their goodwill is phenomenal.”
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