Kameen Eye Associates Performs Corrective Vision Lasik Surgery to 47-Year Old “Near-Blind” Man
Baltimore, Maryland (PRWEB) July 11, 2013 -- For the past fourteen years, Dr. Anthony J. Kameen, founder and Medical Director of Kameen Eye Associates, has been performing free eye examinations and providing complimentary vision services for hundreds of homeless individuals that pass through the Helping Up Mission. The Mission is a Baltimore City based program that works to improve the lives of homeless and drug-addicted individuals throughout the metropolitan region. During one of his clinic days about one year ago, Dr. Kameen noticed something remarkably different and troubling about the behavior of one particular patient. The man was 47-year old Anthony Curtis.
“Amazingly, he seemed blind,” Dr. Kameen said, who surmised this across-the-room diagnosis by noticing that Curtis was navigating his way around by placing his hands on the walls of the room as he walked. A comprehensive eye examination revealed that Curtis, in fact, suffered from severe nearsightedness, a condition that the homeless man was forced to manage without any type of eyewear. Dr. Kameen provided the man eyeglasses, but they were thick, heavy and difficult to wear. He wanted to help him further by performing complimentary LASIK, but the strong Helping Up Mission philosophy, which teaches individuals the importance of helping themselves, would not allow this instantaneous assistance.
“My training and professional credo as a physician emphasizes healing and helping people,” Dr. Kameen explained. “But, in this instance, it was important to take into consideration the bigger picture of requiring Anthony to first graduate from the Spiritual Recovery Program, which is designed to provide a lifetime of benefits, much like successful LASIK surgery. Yet, I was shocked how he was able to survive all this time without the ability to see.”
On February 8, Anthony Curtis passed the first crucial test by successfully graduating from the year-long, twelve-step therapeutic program, created specifically to turn around the lives of homeless men with severe drug and alcohol-related addiction issues. In that year’s time, Anthony was also able to complete his General Education Development (GED) certification and he quit smoking.
Anthony Curtis fulfilled his Helping Up Mission obligation, and was now in line to receive yet another life-changing benefit.
“Anthony proved to me and everyone at Helping Up Mission that he was serious and motivated about improving his life,” Dr. Kameen said. “It was critical to allow the Mission to guide us through this process, so feelings of jealousy or anger were not precipitated from other men at the mission. It was the correct course of action.”
On February 21, Dr. Kameen performed successful LASIK surgery on Anthony Curtis, at no charge, and indications show that he is on the path to achieving uncorrected 20/20 vision. Curtis has begun arranging for job interviews with the hope of achieving meaningful and long-term employment.
“Since suffering an accident when I was seven years old, I have been legally blind for more than 40 years,” explained Anthony Curtis. “Together with earning my GED and now seeing, I feel that there is nothing that I cannot accomplish. I have a new mission in life – to get a great job and, someday, open up my own business. I woke up the other day and could not believe how well I was seeing. It has still not sunken in.”
“The turning point in my life was watching graduation last year. It was a moving experience that motivated me. I have tried to graduate from Helping Up Mission before but failed. This time, I took a hard look at the reasons why I was involved in actions and behaviors that were tearing me down. It was not all about drugs and alcohol. It was little things. But, my life is now turned around – I am on Cloud 9. I cannot let myself or the people around me down, like Dr. Kameen, that worked so hard to help me accomplish my first set of goals,” he added.
“After two years of extremely hard work, the future seems bright for Anthony. He was the model student for Helping Up Mission and the template for what is possible,” Kameen concluded.
Kameen Eye Associates is a full-service ophthalmology practice that focuses on providing corrective cataract, refractive and LASIK surgery. The group also specializes in offering education about how nutrition, diet and exercise can positively impact the maintenance of excellent vision. For more information, visit http://www.kameen.com.
Katie Meeks, Kameen Eye Associates, http://www.kameen.com, 410-339-7200, [email protected]
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