Lucy’s Story

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 On Saturday, I returned to Port Moresby after spending two weeks in Mt Hagen working with an eye team, performing cataract surgeries for those who had been on the local surgeon’s waitlist for a long time. This is a long one, but its an awesome story of one of the patients that I got to witness from start to finish!

I met Lucy and her daughter-in-law Rose at their village during one of our clinics in July. I was helping in the eye clinic, learning how to do cataract screening. Rose brought Lucy in, and had Lucy sit on the floor. Lucy didn’t look at anyone, didn’t talk to anyone, she just stared straight ahead. Rose gave me a scrap of paper that said “this is Lucy. She is a very special case. She has been blind for two years. Please help her see again.”

My heart was moved, but Lucy didn’t have a health care book, just that scrap of paper and a registration slip. I told Rose, “I’m so sorry, but we can’t put Lucy on the cataract list unless she has a health care book.” 

Well, Rose told Lucy to stay where she was, and she disappeared for about an hour. She came back once with a full piece of blank paper, and I had to tell her again, “sorry, but it has to be an official health care book”, and then she disappeared again. All this time Lucy sat on the floor in her own little world, unseeing and isolated. 

Now I don’t know where Rose went or how she did this, but she appeared over an hour later with a brand new health care book in hand! I joyfully took it from her and added it to our stack of patients we needed to see, and the eye doctor was able to put her on the waiting list for the cataract surgeries that were going to be taking place the next month.

Fast forward to three weeks ago, and I arrived at the Mount Hagen General Hospital with our new eye team who were going to be performing cataract surgeries over the next two weeks. We went to the eye clinic to meet up with the local health professionals, and who do I see waiting for registrations outside the clinic but Lucy and Rose! 

I was overjoyed to be able to re-connect with them, and to see that they had made it into the city to be able to receive Lucy’s treatment. I also felt so encouraged to be able to see fruit from our last visit; to be able to be part of the continuity of care for Lucy and her family. 

Well, that was Monday, and the following Friday, Lucy received her cataract surgery. Our ride was late Saturday morning, so I didn’t get to see Lucy’s patch taken off, but I did catch Lucy and Rose leaving the hospital after receiving her post-op assessment. 

Lucy was like a completely different person! She was standing up straighter, she was looking around, she was interacting with the people around her, and her smile was so full of joy and recognition. It was like new life had been infused into her bones. 

Lucy was just one of the 112 people who had their lives transformed over our last outreach. I felt so honoured to be able to be a part of her journey, and so inspired to see her daughter-in-law’s faith as she advocated for her mother and went the extra mile to ensure Lucy received her miracle. 

How many of us walk around blind, unable to see the goodness and hope that is all around us, too exhausted to try to interact anymore? We sit on the floor in the dark like Lucy. But through Jesus we get to have our sight restored! He gives us new eyes to see the light and the joy and the hope that is all around us! We get to experience his goodness. God is the surgeon and if we allow him to work on us, we get to be like Lucy and experience all the grace he has to offer!

“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  -John 8:12