A Special Olympics athlete from Peru who has been almost blind for most of his life is set to have much of his eyesight restored following the intervention of volunteer eye specialists at Dublin's RDS.
Mr Ivan Navarro (25), from an impoverished region of Peru, is blind in one eye and suffers from a major cataract in the other. It is believed he had never received a thorough eye examination until yesterday morning.
Ms Lynda McGivney-Nolan, one of the clinical directors at the "opening eyes" section of the healthy athletes programme in the Special Olympics, said arrangements were now being made to ensure he received appropriate care when he returned to Peru.
"He's been going around functionally blind all his life and all he needed was a cataract operation. It would never have been diagnosed unless he called in here today.
"We're all really proud about it. This is what the programme's all about. At the moment he's walking around with his head tilted to one side to try and compensate for the cataract," she said.
The healthy athletes programme, which has been based in the RDS for the duration of the Special Olympics, offers health screening and, sometimes, treatment across a range of areas, including dentistry, audiology and physical therapy.
Mr Navarro is due to receive treatment from one of the founders of the Special Olympics in Latin America, an opthalmologist based in Peru, when he returns home.
It is likely the cataract could be removed through surgery, which would restore a substantial amount of his vision in his left eye.While the Peruvian athlete appears to have suffered from the condition for most of his life, experts suspect the eye damage was the result of an injury.
While thousands of athletes have availed of the free health checks, it is not the first time this week that volunteer health specialists at the RDS have helped prevent an athlete from going blind.Mr Sopon Ketkao, a 19-year-old table-tennis athlete from Thailand, who suffered from glaucoma, would have lost his eyesight if the condition had not been spotted by optometry experts.
The "Opening Eyes" section of the healthy athletes programme receives sponsorship from a range of sources and Lion's Club International has donated €5.28 million.
A spectacular party is planned for Croke Park tomorrow night to conculde the Games.
