NINA VASILIEVNA PANKRATOVA: “LIFE CAN GET BETTER”

“I am a pensioner. Now all my business is caring for my husband who had a stroke. It consumes all the time. And all the money. I don’t have a free minute for myself. Although I have big health problems. Especially with eyesight: chorioretinitis. Lately, it has become very difficult to get to the doctor: the interval between injections, which I have to give my husband, is only three hours, and I still need to feed him. So the doctor hasn’t examined me for a long time. And the vision was getting worse: I began to see some splinters before my eyes.

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Sometimes I felt great fear and despair, thinking about what would happen if I could not see properly. I mean, our life with my husband will not get better …

But recently, on Facebook, I saw an offer to come for a free examination, and it turned out that it was nearby, in Krylatskoye, where I live.

I registered. Moreover, I got through the first time I made a phone call. They talked to me so well! I explained my situation and was asked to come at nine in the morning. I came running.

Yes, visual impairment was found. I may need surgery. But now I understand the whole course of my further treatment and I know what to do.

So I’m just flying. My mood is excellent. I don’t even remember when it was like this before. And I have also realized that a person should take care of their health, at least for the sake of their loved ones.”

Photo by: Evgeny Stetsko ⠀

The patient gave consent for taking photographs and publishing the review.

The project “Save Sight. Improving access to quality ophthalmic care for older people” is supported by the Presidential Grants Fund.