“I see you are wearing glasses,” Lora said excitedly. “And your eyes,” she continued with amazement, “your eyes are BLUE!”

As Lora looked up from the operating table into Dr. Sarah Merrill’s face, her elation at being able to see was unmistakable.

Omar commented almost apologetically on his own condition - living with colostomy bags and a catheter for five years since a motorcycle accident that crushed his pelvis - when Dr. Ranjit Pullarkat asked him why he’s here this Monday morning for surgery at Hospital Santa Teresa.