Francisco Sees Again

At Community Health Connect we have the privilege of seeing the lives of our clients blessed daily through the kindness of our volunteer providers and their staff.  One of the first miracles we saw came via Francisco Salas.  Francisco came to our office in June of 2009 with a referral to see an ophthalmologist.  He had been having some serious problems related to his vision, and he had been for some time. Francisco suffered from cataracts on both eyes that had slowly clouded his vision until he could barely see.  Unfortunately the need for ophthalmology services supersedes the available providers, so Francisco had to wait five months before we could get him an appointment with a volunteer ophthalmologist.

On Francisco’s first visit to Dr. Paul Olson’s office he was informed with little surprise that he was legally blind.  Dr. Olson decided that cataract removal surgery could help Francisco get his vision back, and we quickly went to work on making arrangements for the surgery.  Our network of providers includes doctors as well as facilities and ancillary care providers making it easier to connect patients to all of the services they need. With help from the devoted staff at Central Utah Surgical Center, Francisco was able to get the services at the surgical center and the anesthesia donated.  Dr. Olson, who also donated his time and services, was masterful in surgery and the procedure was a success. 

When Francisco returned to Dr. Olson’s office eight days post surgery, he had gone from being legally blind to having 20/40-20/30 vision. The remaining deficiencies in his sight could now be easily corrected with glasses.Many witnessed the miracle of a blind man seeing again. This amazing change was possible thanks to all of the many volunteers that assisted along the way.  From the office staff at Community Health Connect, the volunteer interpreters that helped Francisco and the doctors and staff effectively communicate, to the staff and anesthesiologist at Central Utah Surgical Center and Dr. Olson and his staff.  From Community Health Connect we send out a big thank you to all those who participated in helping Francisco get his vision back.  With the gift of sight, his quality of life will surely improve. Francisco looked forward to returning to work, enjoying reading, and watching his grandchildren play.  We are so happy for Francisco and grateful to be part of such a generous community.