Who are you?
My name is Sita, and I was born and raised in Friesland, in the beautiful town of Dokkum. When I was 21, I emigrated to Israel with my Israeli husband, my 3-year-old daughter, and my 1-year-old son. I later had another son there. I lived there for about eight years and, after my divorce, returned to the Netherlands with the children. We then moved to Alkmaar.
My children have all left home now, and I’m the proud grandmother of five grandchildren, three of whom live in Israel. For the past five years, I’ve worked in healthcare as a Housing and Welfare Worker, which was a truly wonderful job. But I still missed having a challenge. That’s why I’m back in school now. It’s a lot of fun. I’m studying for a degree in Social Care. That means I go to school for a day and a half. The rest of the week, I work at a Korsakov care facility. After two long-term relationships, I’ve been single for four years now, and I’m perfectly happy with that. My hobbies are mountain biking, drawing and painting, and reading (spiritual books, such as those by Krishnamurti).
Why do you see with only one eye?
When I was a child, a potato peeler got stuck in my left eye. I was making baskets with my sisters. They had the scissors, but since I wanted to get on with it too, I grabbed a small knife from the kitchen drawer. I bravely started cutting into the cardboard, and the knife just shot right through my eye.
When was your eye removed, and why?
After years of having a red and painful eye, I ended up at the Eye Center in Heerhugowaard. My ophthalmologist there had done an internship with Dr. Hartong at the Amsterdam UMC during her training. She told me about the possibility of eye removal. This was the first time anyone had ever mentioned this to me. Usually, I was just sent home with ointments and eye drops. I was very curious about this option. I made an appointment with Dr. Hartong. And then things moved very quickly. I had the surgery in November 2023 at the Amsterdam UMC. The surgery went much better than I expected. I experienced almost no pain. But I did find the period when I had to wear an eye patch very unsettling. After two months, I received my first ocular prosthesis. Absolutely fantastic!
How do you like the eye prosthesis?
I’ve had the prosthesis for a year now. It’s opened up a whole new world for me. Before, I never made eye contact with anyone because I wanted to avoid questions about my eye. Thanks to the prosthesis, I suddenly don’t stand out anymore. It’s an indescribable feeling. I can truly recommend it to anyone with a damaged, blind eye.
Why did you become a member of the OOG in OOG Association?
I enjoy reading about the experiences of people who also have only one eye and getting the latest information about living with only one eye.
