Fourth-year medical student Adrianna Eder is excited to co-direct and coordinate logistics for the third-annual Race for Sight 5K. She is sharing race director duties with fourth-year medical students Caroline Awh and Barbara Smith.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this effort to raise money to restore vision,” she said. “This event would not be possible without the support of the Memphis Lions Club and the dedicated ophthalmologists at the Hamilton Eye Institute.”
The race, which will take place on Saturday, February 29, is the main community fundraiser for the Ivan Marais Cataract-A-Thon, which helped 24 patients from Memphis and the surrounding area last year. The fourth-annual Cataract-A-Thon will take place this summer at UTHSC.
The 5K is sponsored by the Hamilton Eye Institute Lion’s Club and helps to alleviate some of the costs associated with the cataract-a-thon. This year’s efforts will also go toward costs associated with vision restoration efforts in Ethiopia and Guatemala.
The race will begin at the Tour De Wolf Pavilion at Shelby Farms Park, at 6903 Great View Drive North, Memphis. The sign-up fee is $25. UTHSC students may register for $15. “Spirit runner” registration is $20. All registrants will receive a T-shirt. To register, go to https://raceroster.com/events/2020/24334/hamilton-eye-institute-race-for-sight-5k. All proceeds will go toward the cataract-a-thon and international vision restoration efforts.
The cataract-a-thon has provided free cataract evaluation, surgery, and post-operative care to the underserved and in-need populations across the southeastern United States. Surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses volunteer a significant amount of their time to provide services. Medical device companies donate supplies to the cause.
The cataract-a-thon honors ophthalmologist and cataract surgery innovator Ivan Marais, MD, who died in 2017. Originally from South Africa, Dr. Marais was an ophthalmology instructor at UTHSC and Hamilton Eye Institute where he trained many residents in cataract surgery.