A Mater Hospital eye surgeon has helped restore the vision of a “near-blind” refugee who was rescued from the frontline of the war in Ukraine by his beloved sister who lives in Goodna.
For the first time in more than a decade, Viktor Olepir, a 57-year-old who has Downs syndrome, is now able to ‘clearly see’ the face of his sister Zoya following cataract surgery.
Viktor arrived in Australia last March and was assessed at Mater Refugee Complex Care Clinic (MRCCC), which provides health care at no cost to those seeking asylum who do not have Medicare and have complex healthcare needs.
Zoya’s brother and stepdaughter, Anna Troshyna, had been seeking refuge underground in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, when the city was bombed by Russian forces last year.
“When the war broke out Viktor was hiding in an underground metro for four days,” Zoya, who came to Australia in 2012, said.
“All I could think of was my brother and how I needed to bring him back to Australia.”
With little support for people living with disability in Ukraine, Zoya made it her “mission” to bring her brother and stepdaughter home, with support from friends in Brisbane and family members living in Ukraine.
“I was feeling so sad and scared for my brother, I thought he was going to die,” she said.
“In Ukraine he wouldn’t have access to health services like we have in Australia. People try and save themselves and they don’t worry about people with a disability.”
Viktor, who arrived in Australia with only his passport and a small bundle of clothes, is one of more than 300 patients supported each year by Mater Refugee Complex Care Clinic.
This year also marks the 21st anniversary of the establishment of MRCCC at Mater’s South Brisbane health campus.
Mater Consultant Ophthalmologist Professor Anthony Kwan successfully performed the first cataract surgery on one of Viktor’s eyes.
Prof Kwan relied on information provided by Mr Olepir’s sister regarding the extent of his vision impairment due to communication and learning difficulties.
“His vision is the only thing he has,” Prof Kwan said.
“Without good vision Viktor will continue to fall over and injure himself. Before the operation he could not see clearly at all.
“After seeing Viktor, he was put on a high priority list at Mater and his need for cataract surgery was classified as urgent.”
Prof Kwan said he had “no idea” Mr Olepir was from a refugee background and that patients were treated with “equality and based on clinical need”.
“This surgery will change his life,” Prof Kwan said. “I am so happy to know his vision has been restored – he was near blind.
Zoya described the moment when nurses at Mater removed her brother’s eye patch for the first time as “priceless”.
“He danced and jumped for joy knowing he could see again,” she laughed.
“The medical professionals at Mater are like angels to us, I can’t tell you how happy I am to see my little brother smile like this again. He would have gone blind if we didn’t get this help.”
