Approximately 600 bicyclists turned out for the 2013 Bike for Sight, hosted by UNMC’s International Division of Ophthalmology and held April 27 at Miller’s Landing in downtown Omaha.
The event, which raised more than $12,000, will support a vision-restoring cataract camp in Ethiopia this fall. For every registered rider, the International Division will perform one free cataract surgery on a patient living needlessly blind.
Angie Ampong, MBCh.B, an ophthalmologist from Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana, knows all too well the critical need for the kind of help the International Division offers.
Video: Dr. Ampong in her own words.
One of 55 glaucoma specialists in a country of 25 million people, Dr. Ampong spent a month at UNMC as one of the first fellows invited by the International Division to learn from ophthalmology experts here. She returned home on April 30.
“Without the support of events like Bike for Sight, the International Division would not be able to afford to offer these kinds of opportunities to people like Dr. Ampong or give the gift of sight back to people who otherwise would not have access to what is considered a very routine operation in the United States,” said Mike Feilmeier, M.D., an assistant professor in the department of ophthalmology and medical director of the International Division.
I want to personally thank Jessica Feilmeier for all her efforts ensuring this event was a great success! It was fun being part of such a worth while event.