During challenging times we all look for ‘good news’ stories. We have two great stories in this issue to remind us of how generous spirits can make a massive difference to the lives of people in the community.
The first is the lead story. It’s about Brendan Birthistle, who at 84 has made a significant financial donation to research being undertaken by Professor Jonathan Crowston. We all know – or at least have heard of Prof Crowston – who is working with a multi-disciplinary team at the new Sydney Biomedical Accelerator to understand more about the role of exercise to protect the retina against age-related vulnerability to injury.
We also know about the importance of regular exercise to maintain our mental and physical health. Through his research, Prof Crowston is showing us that the benefits extend right through to our vision.
The other story I’m referring to has been written by ophthalmologists Drs Tanya Trinh and Greg Maloney. It’s about extraordinary work taking place at The Australian Keratoprosthesis Service (AKS), within Sydney Eye Hospital, to restore sight to people with bilateral corneal blindness. I had the good fortune to interview a patient of Drs Trinh and Maloney who performed the modified osteo-odonto keratoprosthesis (m-OOKP) procedure to restore her sight. Heather Pozzobon blew my mind. She’d given birth to one son while sighted, then having lost her sight, decided she wanted to have a second child. Later, her best life, bringing up her boys without sight, and of her joy when she saw their faces and the colours of the world around her… and had the opportunity to hit the ski slopes with vision.
Elsewhere in our June issue we have a strong focus on myopia. The Child Myopia Working Group is promoting a global standard of care for myopia management. Dr Margaret Lam and Jagrut Lallu explain why eye care professionals should adopt it. Dr Samantha Sze-Yee Lee reviews the literature on myopia onset and progression in young adulthood, and in a CPD article on orthokeratology, Dr Neema Ghorbani Mojarrad and Sophie Coverdale from the United Kingdom, touch on using these lenses for myopia control.
Enjoy the issue.
