A Mater eye surgeon has helped restore the vision of a “near-blind” refugee who was rescued from the frontline of the war in Ukraine by his beloved sister living in Queensland.
For the first time in more than a decade, Viktor Olepir, a 57-year-old who has Down syndrome, is now able to ‘clearly see’ the face of his sister Zoya Olepir following cataract surgery at Mater Hospital Brisbane last week.
Mr Olepir arrived in Australia last March and was assessed at Mater Refugee Complex Care Clinic (MRCCC), which provides healthcare at no cost to those seeking asylum who do not have Medicare and have complex healthcare needs.
Mrs Olepir's brother and stepdaughter, Anna Troshyna, had been seeking refuge underground in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, when the city was bombed by Russian forces last year.
“When the war broke out Viktor was hiding in an underground metro for four days,” Mrs Olepir, who came to Australia in 2012 and lives in Goodna, said.
“All I could think of was my brother and how I needed to bring him back to Australia.”
With little support for people living with disability in Ukraine, Mrs Olepir made it her “mission” to bring her brother and stepdaughter home, with support from friends in Brisbane and family members living in Ukraine.
“I was feeling so sad and scared for my brother, I thought he was going to die,” she said.
“In Ukraine he wouldn’t have access to health services like we have in Australia. People try and save themselves and they don’t worry about people with a disability.”
Mr Olepir, who arrived in Australia with only his passport and a small bundle of clothes, is one of more than 300 patients supported each year by Mater Refugee Complex Care Clinic.
This year also marks the 21st anniversary of the establishment of MRCCC at Mater’s South Brisbane health campus.
Mater Hospital Brisbane Consultant Ophthalmologist and Retinal Specialist Associate Professor Anthony Kwan successfully performed the first cataract surgery on one of Mr Olepir’s eyes following a referral from Mater Intellectual Disability and Autism Service (MIDAS).
MIDAS is a state-wide service which aims to improve the health and wellbeing of adults with intellectual and neurodevelopmental disabilities.
Prof Kwan relied on information provided by Mr Olepir’s sister regarding the extent of his vision impairment due to communication and learning difficulties.
“His vision is the only thing he has,” Prof Kwan said.
“Without good vision Viktor will continue to fall over and injure himself. Before the operation he could not see clearly at all.
“After seeing Viktor, he was put on a high priority list at Mater and his need for cataract surgery was classified as urgent.”
Prof Kwan said he had “no idea” Mr Olepir was from a refugee background and that patients were treated with “equality and based on clinical need”.
“This surgery will change his life,” Prof Kwan said. “I am so happy to know his vision has been restored – he was near blind.
“Viktor and his sister will no doubt look forward to his second cataract operation”.
Mrs Olepir described the moment when nurses at Mater removed her brother’s eye patch for the first time as “priceless”.
“He danced and jumped for joy knowing he could see again,” she laughed.
“This surgery would have been very difficult to do under current circumstances in Ukraine.
“The medical professionals at Mater are like angels to us, I can’t tell you how happy I am to see my little brother smile like this again. He would have gone blind if we didn’t get this help.
“He is running and jumping around. Before the surgery he was falling over, holding himself up onto things and leaning for stability.”
She said thanks to Mater’s audiology team, Mr Olepir was set to receive hearing aids at no cost from another Brisbane hospital to assist with his severe hearing loss.
MRCCC was established in 2002 and is the longest continuing clinic of its kind in Australia. The service offers specialised primary health care including complex case management for people seeking asylum.
Dedicated staff service patients from more than 67 countries including Papua New Guinea Iran, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia.
Mater Refugee Health Service Director Donata Sackey said both MIRHS and MRCCC have been responsive to a changing global crisis, including COVID-19, the war in Ukraine and the Afghanistan evacuation.
She said since 2001 Mater Refugee Health had helped more than 300 patients from Ukraine, providing services including direct clinical care, extensive nursing health assessments, care coordination and liaising with other health and social support providers throughout the community.
Ms Sackey said MRCCC and Mater Foundation support people who are seeking asylum, and do not have access to Medicare, by partnering with many donors and philanthropic organisations including Nudgee Trust, Muslim Charitable Foundation, Ukrainian Community of Queensland Inc and the Tzu Chi Foundation, to provide essential pathology, pharmacy and radiology services at no cost to patients.
“What remains consistent is our commitment to looking after those most marginalised in our community and making sure that nobody goes without healthcare,” Ms Sackey said.
“The clinic has seen patients who have experienced trauma and torture, gender-based violence and endured war and prolonged displacement in refugee camps.”
As a multidisciplinary specialist primary care service, MRCCC delivers holistic care with a focus on addressing the patients’ social determinants of health in a culturally safe context.
Image: Viktor and Zoya Olepir are back together again.