Vision Centre

Andre Theron - dedicated to his patients
Gold Coast Bulletin, 10-11 January 2004

THE witch doctor's remedies had not been kind to the old people who were slowly going blind in the village of Manguzi on the South Africa-Mozambique border. Some of the elders could see barely enough to tend their crops and move around with safety, the lenses in their eyes having hardened and clouded, robbing many of years of productive, happy life.

Cataracts do not respond well to spells, potions and sacred dances. Still, most greeted with suspicion news that a white eye surgeon was to visit the village for the first time. At the time of his arrival some villagers hid, but others, more desperate for help, mustered the courage to see Dr Andre Theron, a young, highly talented ophthalmologist from Durban. Working in a tiny surgery, without air conditioning, Dr Theron, used microsurgery to achieve what the witch doctors could not - restoration of the gift of sight for the old villagers. Cries of delight and tears of joy greeted the removal of dressings, when patients, partially blind for many years could see clearly again - 'miracles' celebrated in the hospital ward by dancing on beds and in the village by gleeful family gatherings. Word of Dr Theron's good work spread among the villages and subsequent visits were welcomed by tribal rituals and gifts, while witch doctors retired to more mundane challenges.

The trying conditions of South Africa's bush villages were a far cry from Dr Theron's new professional environment, the Gold Coast Vision Centre - a multimillion-dollar eye care centre at Southport, equipped with the world's finest surgical technology. Dr Theron, 38, today is a member of the highly respected Vision Centre team of ophthalmologists, led by Dr Roger Welch. But his past in South Africa, and his determination to find a new life for himself and wife Milada on the Gold Coast, bear testimony to abilities beyond surgical expertise. For the past four years, Dr Theron has been the driving force behind the establishment of ophthalmological services at the Gold Coast and Robina hospitals. While he welcomes his new role as a Vision Centre specialist, Dr Theron continues to share his time with the Gold Coast Hospital - reflecting a commitment to community service, bred in hard days in South Africa when he literally earned his stripes.

For much of the past four years Dr Theron has worked seven days a week at the Gold Coast Hospital, on call 24 hours, often seeing up to 50 patients a day and gaining the respect of patients, doctors and the wider community.
"I was grateful for the opportunity to work at the Gold Coast Hospital - without it we may not have been able to stay in Australia and there was a major community need that had to be filled," says Dr Theron. He is no stranger to hard work and testing times with his history in South Africa resembling an action movie script.    Born in Johannesburg, the son of a Durban veterinary surgeon father and a physiotherapist mother, Dr Theron and his family lived constantly with danger. After qualifying at Johannesburg's Witwatersrand University in 1988 and completing four years as registrar at Durban's King Edward VIII hospital, Dr Theron spent time in various hospitals dealing with day-to-day challenges that reflected the society in which he practised. Visits to remote hospitals necessitated travel through hostile territory and going armed with a 9ml semi-automatic pistol was not unusual. He had been trained in the use of weapons during compulsory military service.

"Travelling into some areas around Durban was very dangerous, especially at night, but we accepted this as part of the job and just living in Durban presented daily challenges," he says. "My wife Milada and I were lucky as none of our immediate family were killed, but a number of friends and associates died or were badly injured. "In South Africa, you learned to live with violence, it was normal, and you could not allow yourself to be overcome with fear. A next door neighbour was bashed in the head with a hammer, but managed to escape by crawling under his car. The attackers stole a few rand and left him for dead." But dealing with horrific eye injuries that were commonplace in Durban was nothing new for Dr Theron. He had seen as bad and worse in the troubled territories of Angola where he served as a medical officer in the South African Army's 32 Battalion - an elite group of African troops. Lieutenant Theron was undertaking compulsory national service and valued the experience in the field in spite of the horrific military injuries he frequently dealt with. "It was not an experience you would choose to endure, but once in the field you needed to be positive about your role and perform to the best of your ability."

In his current roles Dr Theron is sometimes reminded of his military work when treating victims of violent attacks on the Coast. The knifing in the eye of a young Surfers Paradise nightclub victim reminded him of 'back home', as have other injuries dealt with by Vision Centre surgeons - a 21-year-old man stabbed in the eye with a key; a young woman's sight nearly lost when she was struck by a ball bearing fired from a high powered slingshot; eyes protruding from sockets crushed in street brawls. But in spite of the doctor's first hand exposure to the Coast's violent side, he and Milada feel safe here and value their peaceful existence. In South Africa the couple dreamed of international travel with Dr Theron helping to provide eye care to disadvantaged communities. While Australia headed their list of desired destinations, making a new home here was viewed as almost impossible, given onerous immigration requirements of doctors. The fact they had Australian citizen relatives meant virtually nothing and the couple had almost written Australia off as their future home when Dr Theron became aware of a US-based international locum agency, seeking to fill a position in Australia at Coffs Harbour. He applied, but was advised funding for the position had been withdrawn and he would have to join a queue of applicants seeking other positions in Australia.
  
Some time later, the plight of the Gold Coast Hospital, struggling to provide adequate ophthalmological care, worked in his favour. A position became available and Dr Theron accepted the agency's offer - even though the position could not be guaranteed for more than a year.  "They told me I would have to jump through a lot of hoops if I wanted to stay in Australia any longer, but we came with hope that we would find a way, regardless of the difficulties," he says. His dedication to duty helped secure a two-year visa, but ultimately this wasn't enough - if he wanted to stay he would need to re-qualify, pass Australian examinations that duplicated those he had successfully undertaken in South Africa and spend a year as a registrar. "It was a great relief when I finally passed the examinations, completed the year as a registrar and returned to the Gold Coast," he says. Queues of needy patients greeted him at the Gold Coast Hospital.
  
"In a way I was grateful that there was so much to be done here - if the position had been more desirable, other Australian practitioners would have wanted the job and Milada and I would have been out of the country." Dr Theron worked largely unaided at the hospital for several years, but was instrumental in having a registrar appointed this year and in establishing the hospital's well-equipped ophthalmology department. He also worked to establish fully equipped eye services at the Robina hospital. The Therons were granted a permanent residence visa 12 months ago. At the Gold Coast Hospital Dr Theron met Dr Roger Welch, and colleagues from the Vision Centre, who provide visiting, supporting ophthalmology services to the hospital. While Dr Theron relishes the opportunity to work in the private sector, he will continue to practice at Gold Coast Hospital and supports the continued expansion of ophthalmological services on the Coast. He looks forward to assisting Dr Welch with rural ophthalmological work in Moree and with other community work and to the possibility of working in remote areas to assist disadvantaged people.  "However I also believe that charity starts at home and we will remain eternally grateful for being given a new life here on the Gold Coast. My first priority will always be serving this community."