From patient to volunteer, how one Saudi woman is supporting the visually impaired

MAKKAH: One Saudi woman’s experience of five years of blindness has motivated her to help the visually impaired.
Nouf Al-Rashidi became blind after an accident using home cleaning products. This not only affected her vision but put her in a dark place emotionally. She missed out on important family events and felt that her life was on hold.
However, two years ago, Al-Rashidi underwent a life-changing procedure at the King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital. After regaining her eyesight, she realized that she could do something for those who had undergone similar difficulties to hers.
As a volunteer at the same hospital, Al-Rashidi now visits patients in the ward where she once stayed. She told Arab News that her own experience inspired her, although seeing the patients made her relive the difficult times she had been through.
“I missed my son and daughter’s weddings. I can’t go back and relive it nor can I help those who are missing special events in their lives, but I can lend a helping hand,” she said.
Al-Rashidi was injured seven years ago while using a cleaning agent in the kitchen. Her husband drove her to a nearby hospital, where she was hospitalized for five days in the intensive care unit.
After spending a month at the hospital, she was later transferred to the King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital where she had corneal transplant surgery, which was unsuccessful. Five years later, she underwent a successful corneal transplant operation.
Al-Rashidi said that the success of the surgery helped her to build confidence and a new outlook on life. “I was very emotional when I saw my parents cry after my recovery, especially since they’d given up on the chance of me ever getting my eyesight back,” she said. “They were difficult moments that will never leave my memory.”

She said that her family played a great role in supporting her. The experience was not easy and she suffered greatly but “knew the value of these blessings that people take for granted. Most people do not feel the value of these blessings until they have lost them.”
She said that “society in all its spectrums embraced her with great love, supporting her in every moment and every step.” She wanted to give back so became a volunteer at the hospital to help those facing similar experiences.
“There’s always hope; the word impossible should never be on their minds and they need a helping hand,” she said.
Visiting patients and simply chatting with them can help elevate the mood of the patients, even if temporarily, she said.