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Mamie Dugdale did not know it, but she was about to become a significant footnote in Windsor-Essex County medical history. Never one to sit still, she is a passionate gardener and avid reader, and despite undergoing chemotherapy to treat breast cancer, she is maintaining an active lifestyle. However, her chemotherapy treatments caused hormonal changes that created additional complications with a severe dry eye condition that was already affecting her eyesight. Little did she know that she was in the early stages of losing her ability to see.
In a very short period of time Mamie went from being independent, to having to rely on her husband to get things done around the house. Her eyesight became increasingly blurry, she could not read nor tend to her beloved garden.Mamie was referred to Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital ophthalmologist Dr. Ann Chiu for a consultation. Dr. Chiu confirmed that Mamie had corneal melt from severe dry eyes resulting from hormonal changes after breast cancer and radiation. To fix the Amy’s perforated cornea, Dr. Chiu temporarily sealed the perforation with caynoacylate glue. However because Amy’s cornea was perforated, she was in need of a more a more permanent solution. Dr. Chiu presented Mamie with a bold surgical option that had never been performed in Windsor.On July 24, 2009, Dr. Chiu performed Windsor’s first corneal transplant on Mamie. This was not only a landmark day for the hospital, but for the whole community, especially for those patients who in the past have had to endure years on a waiting list to travel out of town for this procedure.The very next day was literally an eye opening experience for the patient, the surgeon and the community, in terms of the future of vision care in Windsor and Essex County. Dr. Chiu had barely removed the bandage from around Mamie’s eye, before the patient immediately pronounced the surgery a success as she proclaimed loudly, “I can see…. I can see!”Mamie has resumed all of her beloved hobbies and activities. You can also count on her having a good read close by, but her greatest joy is seeing the smiles of her grandchildren and sharing life with her family to the fullest.How can you say thanks to Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital?All of us are touched in some way, either directly or indirectly, by medical challenges. When it happens, we appreciate having access to the extraordinary care exemplified in the true stories told in these testimonials.
If you or your family would like to say "thanks" to the inspired caregivers of Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital for the care they deliver every day, we'd be pleased to discuss how your donation can help us continue to grow as one of Ontario's leading healthcare providers. Call us today.Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital Foundation
Phone: 519-973-4443
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