A former publican has described his joy after being given back the gift of sight in a cutting-edge surgery at Norfolk's biggest hospital. Paul Mainwaring, who has been registered as blind for the past year, has become the first patient to undergo a new type of cornea transplant at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. Mr Mainwaring, 65, lost his sight last year after suffering scarring in both his corneas - changing the lives of him and his wife Maggie, 74.
He said: "The last year has been horrible - I've gone from being my wife's toy boy to her being my carer and having to do everything for me. "Before I lost my sight we used to share all the cooking, all the cleaning, everything equally - so for her to suddenly have to do everything was devastating." Mr Mainwaring, of Dersingham, said that before the surgery all he could see was "black and dark grey" - but following the procedure, he was now seeing colours again and can recognise his wife's face again.
He said: "I've been able to walk around Sainsbury's with Maggie's help without bumping into people, which sounds like a small thing but isn't to me. "Last week I came to hospital and walked from the waiting area to the clinic room unaided, which I haven't been able to for 12 months." The operation was carried out by Chrishan Gunasekera, a consultant ophthalmologist from the N&N, who Mr Mainwaring said he was "in awe of".
While his vision is still severely impaired, Mr Mainwaring is now hopeful that if his recovery cont.
