BOCA RATON, FL -- Thanksgiving ushers in the season of giving and in Boca Raton more than a dozen people have quite a bit to be thankful for. They've been given the gift - of sight.
"It's a big day for me, yes," said Angelo Muvseski. The 61-year-old from Jupiter waited his turn for free surgery.
For years, cataracts have robbed Muvseski of his vision, making his work as a handyman almost impossible.
"Well, I noticed, I would say a good seven years ago, I noticed blurring," he says. "I was seeing double. Like when I'm seeing the street signs."
Muvseski and more than a dozen other people with eye problems were indentified by the Caridad Center in Boynton Beach which provides free medical services to the area's indigent.
The patients were then referred to Eye Associates of Boca Raton. The surgery center's time, expertise and supplies are all donated.
Others pitch in too. IOP Inc., donated amniotic membrane tissue for pterygium alcon surgery. Alcon pharmaceutical donated supplies. Amsurg donated its staff's salaries for the day. And anesthesiologists Michelle Dresner and Steven Kiffel also donated their time.
"These patients, most of them are hard working responsible individuals who simply don't make a lot of money. And this is a great way we can help them get quality care," said Dr. Howard Doyle who founded Eye Associates 35 years ago and now works with Caridad.
The staff at the surgical center also sees patients referred by Caridad throughout the year, but usually one at a time. Tuesday they'll have seen as many as fifteen patients.
The reward, say staffers, is the reaction from grateful patients who are able to see clearly for the first time in years.
"You know, vision is a precious gift and it gives me a great deal of satisfaction to be able to repair and restore that when it's been lost," said Dr. Howard Goldman who performed many of the day's surgeries.
The same doctors have also taken their skills and generosity on international missions. But recently, they say, politics has made such trips more difficult. So they looked closer to home and found the same need exists in our own backyard.
That's fortunate for grateful people like Angelo Muvseski, who now has a brand new outlook. On his work. On his family. On life.
"That just makes it a thousand times better, you know? I don't know how to thank these people, you know?"
