Blind woman cured after OO's discovery

The story of Jean Baxter was broadcast on Tuesday (March 14) on BBC Radio 4's In Touch programme. Ms Baxter, from Warlingham, Surrey, was diagnosed at a hospital as suffering from a hereditary condition in the early 1980s. Her mother, elder sister and elder brother were all blind. When she remarried in 1992 her husband suggested that she invest in some more 'modern' spectacles which she wore for cosmetic reasons. After five optical practitioners turned her away late in 1999 she saw a Rawling and Sons optometrist, Ruth Douse in Caterham, without revealing she was blind. Ms Douse, who qualified in 1996, said that when she examined Ms Baxter she found the pensioner could see 'about a metre'. 'When I saw her she had such dense cataracts I couldn't see the fundus at all.' After what the programme called 'a thorough examination' the optometrist made the discovery which changed Ms Baxter's life. She had her second cataract operation six weeks ago at the East Surrey Hospital and her vision has been restored. Ms Baxter said that although she was initially angered what had happened, she had no intention of seeking redress from the unnamed hospital.