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Man's sight restored 66 years on | Man's sight restored 66 years on |
(about 8 hours later) | |
A man who was blinded in one eye during the Blitz has had his sight restored by Scottish specialists, 66 years later. | A man who was blinded in one eye during the Blitz has had his sight restored by Scottish specialists, 66 years later. |
John Gray, 87, was badly injured during the Luftwaffe's bombing raid on Clydeside and was told he would never again see through his right eye. | |
However, when he started to go blind in his left eye too, specialists decided to see if there was anything they could do about the wartime wound. | |
An eye surgeon at Glasgow's Southern General replaced the scarred lens. | An eye surgeon at Glasgow's Southern General replaced the scarred lens. |
Mr Gray can now see through the eye he has not used in six decades and is sufficiently sighted to sit a driving test. | |
I've got vision and I can read to a certain extent John Gray | |
In 1941 he was watching for fires as German bombers flew overhead on their way to their targets on the Clyde. | In 1941 he was watching for fires as German bombers flew overhead on their way to their targets on the Clyde. |
They also dropped landmines to stop fire crews reaching the scene. One landed on the building he was in. The two people he was with died in the attack. | |
Mr Gray said: "We just heard some glass shattering and that was the last thing I heard until I came too in the Victoria Infirmary with my leg stretched out in plaster and a big bandage on my head. | Mr Gray said: "We just heard some glass shattering and that was the last thing I heard until I came too in the Victoria Infirmary with my leg stretched out in plaster and a big bandage on my head. |
"I had an injury to my head which took the sight away from my right eye. I didn't know at the time that it was gone for good but they told me it was a traumatic cataract formed by a blow and they said there was nothing could be done about it". | "I had an injury to my head which took the sight away from my right eye. I didn't know at the time that it was gone for good but they told me it was a traumatic cataract formed by a blow and they said there was nothing could be done about it". |
Scarred lens | |
More than six decades later, the sight in his left eye started to deteriorate and when his local optometrist checked his 1940s wound, he found the lens was scarred but the retina was healthy. | |
He underwent surgery to repair the damage and described himself as "delighted" with the outcome. | |
"I couldn't be more pleased," he declared. "I've got vision and I can read to a certain extent". |