You helped save a man’s vision

Imagine your eyesight faltering. Now imagine that happening in public while you’re heading to an event you’re essentially in charge of. That’s what happened to Keith Moen, executive director of the North Saskatoon Business Association.

“It was late afternoon one day in November 2021. I was on the way to our Business Builders Awards,” Keith says, noting the event honours growth and innovation. “About a half hour before the program started, I was carrying boxes and went from the bright sun outside into the darker hall space.”

As his eyes adjusted, he noticed, “this floater in my eyes that I’d had for a while was moving in differently. My optometrist told me it was something I should watch for. It was kind of wispy or looked like smoke.”

Keith texted his optometrist and immediately got a call back. “He asked me to describe what was happening. I did and he told me to go see him at his office right away.”

The optometrist ran tests and while he did, Keith noticed his vision getting worse. “I let him know and he told me to call my wife because I was going to need a driver. He was sending me to City Hospital to see a specialist at the Eye Care Centre. By the time I left his office, I was blind in my left eye.”

“Keith’s case was an age-related change,” surgeon Dr. Masri says. “The gel in the back of the eye shifts around and, in some cases, it becomes too sticky and tears a hole in the retina that requires monitoring or surgery.”

He saw that Keith’s eye was hemorrhaging as the retina had torn; immediate surgery was needed.

Months later, his vision was almost normal. “I’m so thankful that the equipment and expertise is there and that this could happen right in my hometown. I never had any doubt that I was in the right place with the right people at Saskatoon City Hospital.

“They saved my eyesight. Going from being blind in one eye to having my vision back was an amazing experience.”