Hugh Raguette regains eyesight

Chairman of the Carnival Bands Association (CBA) Hugh Raguette is giving thanks and praise to almighty God for restoring his eyesight, which had deteriorated to the point where he could no longer read, and had to be led around by others.{{more}}

In an interview with SEARCHLIGHT over the weekend, at his Stoney Ground residence, Raguette was choked by emotions when he reflected on how his sight had deteriorated in 2010.

“It is rather difficult to put my feelings into words you know, but I have to give thanks to almighty God for his goodness towards me. Without the help of God I know I would not have been seeing again today…,” Raguette said.

SEARCHLIGHT spoke with Raguette on Sunday, just two days after the veteran mas man returned from Cuba, where he had spent the last month and had had surgeries to remove cataracts from both eyes.

Before going any further with the interview, Raguette hastened to thank the government of this country and prime minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves, for assisting him to travel to Cuba for treatment.

Raguette said he is near-sighted and was never blessed with good eyesight. He said when he was only 19 years old, retired physician and surgeon Dr Cecil Cyrus met him at the Service Commissions Department and told him to come to his office.

“He prescribed glasses for me at the time and told me that I would encounter problems with my eyes later in life…,” he said.

In 2010, Raguette visited the late opthalmologist Dr Junior Bacchus, because he thought he needed new glasses. However, the prescribed treatment did not work and his eyesight continued to go bad.

“After nothing was working, I was recommended to the Cuban eye specialists here. It took me a while to get an appointment, but I finally got one in August 2011 and it was then I discovered I had cataract in both eyes…,” he said.

Rather than being saddened by the news, Raguette admitted that he was rather “relieved”.

“When I heard it was cataract, I was quite relieved. I felt some relief knowing it wasn’t something worst than cataract, so I felt a measure of relief,” he indicated.

Raguette was then recommended for surgery and an early appointment date was arranged by Dr Simone Keizer-Beache in February, 2012, he said. At this time, Raguette said he could have hardly seen anything and noted that he had to be assisted by other persons, something he admitted was very “unsettling”.

“I could see very little and it was very unsettling to know all my life I was used to doing everything on my own. It came to a point that, in order for me to move around, I had to rely on a taxi and somebody to guide me… I even had to be carried around in a wheelchair…,” Raguette disclosed.

About three hours after the 30 to 45 minute surgery on May 2, at the Ramon Pando Feller hospital, Raguette said he was able to see from his right eye. With the second surgery done on his left eye a week later, Raguette admitted that he could not believe that he was seeing clearly again.

“Boy! when the nurse throw that thing in my eyes after the surgery and I opened my eyes and saw again, I tell you! I had to give thanks to almighty God then and there…,” Raguette recounted as he held both hands in the air, re-enacting what he did while in Cuba.

No longer requiring the assistance of persons to read for him, Raguette was photographed in Cuba, reading the May 11 edition of SEARCHLIGHT.

“It was so good. For the last year or so, I had to have people reading for me. It was good to be able to read again. I really feel it for anybody who is losing their sight or have lost their eyesight…,” Raguette added.

The CBA chairman also admitted that at no time did he feel that he would never regain his eyesight.

“I always knew of the medical revolution that was taking place in Cuba back in the 1970’s. I had a great deal of confidence that my situation could be handled,” said Raguette.

Now that he is back to full vision, Raguette said he will continue to play his role in Carnival, as he has been doing over the years.

He thanked Doctors Balkis Rodrijues, Osalvado Chiquel Mirabal, Yuliams Labe and nurse Aihmatea Aneaia Quello for all their help during his time in Cuba.