Norwood ophthalmologist James Muecke nominated for Pride of Australia medal
JAMES Muecke has a humanitarian spirit. If the Norwood ophthalmologist got his way, he would work himself out of a job and some of the most developing countries in the world would all have their own eye surgeons.
JAMES Muecke has a humanitarian spirit. If the Norwood ophthalmologist got his way, he would work himself out of a job and some of the most developing countries in the world would all have their own eye surgeons.
Dr Muecke and his team have been raising money to train doctors in eight Asian countries, including Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.
One success story is Myanmar doctor Than Htung Aung.
Dr Muecke’s foundation Sight For All brought him to Adelaide where he trained for 12 months at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital to become a paediatric ophthalmologist.
He returned to his homeland about four years ago with the skills and equipment to start treating preventable blindness in children.
About 20,000 Burmese children now have restored sight.
“What was needed was paediatric eye services and there were none in Myanmar at that time,” Dr Muecke, 51, says.
“Following the training, he went back as a children’s eye surgeon in his own country — the first for 60 million people.”
Dr Aung is now training other local doctors in paediatric ophthalmology.
“What we want to do is do ourselves out of a job,” Dr Muecke, a father of two, says.
“There’s plenty more work to do, there’s no question about that, but if we can tick off a few of these vital areas it really makes a difference for the country.”
Dr Muecke’s adventurous spirit has led him all over the world and reignited his passion for medicine.
“After my internship, I was on the brink of giving up on medicine,” he says.
“It was a year of dealing with patients with chronic debilitating diseases, often self-inflicted from smoking.
“Patients were on this downward spiral and to me, as a doctor, I found that quite unsatisfying and I think I needed something more.”
He went on to become a doctor in the Aberdare Mountains of Kenya, worked at St John Eye Hospital in Jerusalem and visited refugee camps in the Gaza strip and the West Bank.
“The year in Kenya was a really inspiring year. What I loved about it was that you could see the patients getting better in front of your face.
“It really appealed to my positive nature.”
Dr Muecke has been nominated for a Pride of Australia Care and Compassion Medal.
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