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SALT LAKE CITY — Shirley Allen's cataracts are gone and she can see clearly again. Her eyes, once clouded and grey, have returned to their natural brown.
Allen was one of 12 people who were selected by the Moran Eye Center, in partnership with the 4th Street Health Clinic, to receive a cataract surgery Saturday. The clinic serves those who have no or low income.
"It's amazing we have some of these people really living in third-world circumstances and conditions right here in our own backyard," said medical student Bryce Radmall.
Doctors volunteered their time to help patients see things they never thought they would see again.
"They struggle to get by day-to-day," Radmall said.
That was Allen's case. But Saturday, her doctor began restoring her sight by cutting into her eye, injecting dye to better see the area needing work and vacuumed the cataract out. In less than 30 minutes, it was gone.
Now, Allen can see herself doing a lot more than she has recently.
"I'm hoping this will help me find employment," she said.
