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Thoghi Louis (in polo shirt) had surgery on each eye thanks to Aker Kasten Eye Center in Boca Raton. From left are Ann Kasten, Alan Aker and their son Jonathan Aker. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

Born legally blind some 40 years ago and forced to see only close images through Coke-bottle thick glasses, Thoghi Louis always hoped that a God-inspired miracle would help him see an all-but-hidden world.

He likely never thought that the genesis of that miracle would come during a chance meeting with a shopper at the Boynton Beach Publix where he worked. 

It wasn’t just any shopper, however. The customer who stopped Louis and quickly examined his glasses was Ann Kasten, an eye surgeon and co-founder — along with her husband, Alan Aker — of the Aker Kasten Eye Center in Boca Raton. 

“It was clear that he was very impaired with his vision,” said Kasten. “I asked do you have an eye problem and he said, ‘Oh yes, I’ve been praying for years but no one could help me.’”

Before the surgeries, Louis wore thick glasses because his vision was so impaired. Photo provided

Now, a year after that first meeting among shopping carts, Louis’ life has dramatically changed for the better.

His vision, he said, was like looking through the wrong end of a telescope. But because of surgery, Lewis now has near normal eyesight — to the point where he no longer needs glasses at all. 

That wouldn’t have happened without the generosity, kindness and compassion of Kasten and her husband and their son Jonathan Aker — as well as Dr. Anup Kubal and the team at their eye center. 

“To me, they are the best doctors because they allowed God to work through them to make something impossible, possible,” said Louis, who didn’t have to pay for the life-altering surgery. “It was a miracle.”

For the three doctors in the Aker Kasten family — all residents of either Gulf Stream or Ocean Ridge — helping others is a big part of why they do what they do. Over the years, the Aker Kasten Eye Center, and the doctors individually, have helped thousands of financially struggling patients receive eye care at no cost. 

That includes frequent mission trips outside the United States and even a program where they provide free cataract surgery to members of Amish communities in Florida and elsewhere. 

Among all those surgeries, however, the two done for Louis stand out. 

“You’re taking someone who is legally blind and the next day they’re almost legal to drive,” says Jonathan Aker, who performed the surgery on Louis’ left eye, while Kubal operated on the right eye. 

There was yet another element that separated Louis’ treatment from others — uncertainty. 

“It was even more special because we didn’t know what to expect,” Kasten said. 

That uncertainty was one reason why Louis’ vision hadn’t been corrected earlier, he said, and why it almost didn’t happen this time.  

Several doctors whom he had visited before, Louis said, had told him that surgery to remove the very old cataracts — and to repair retina damage — could end up with his losing what little vision he had. 

With that in mind, Louis was initially reluctant to follow up after the chance meeting with Kasten in Publix.

“When they first called to schedule an appointment, I didn’t go,” Louis said. 

It was a second interaction at Publix — this time with Alan Aker — and a prayer for guidance that changed his mind. 

“Saying yes meant taking a chance to see if a miracle could happen,” he said. “It happened.” 

The results were clear soon after the first surgery, which included special-order replacement lenses.

“He could see immediately,” said Kubal, who met with Louis a short time later and heard the patient tell him that the results were far beyond what he had expected. 

The success of the surgery was greeted with tears of joy from some members of the Aker Kasten Eye Center team. 

Louis says that with improved eyesight he can now do more at his job, including going outside to help customers bring groceries to their cars and to help stock shelves. 

“When we see someone like this that we know we can help, we get excited,” Alan Aker said. “That’s what drives us.” 

For Kasten, who could have easily walked past Louis in the Publix lobby just feet from the front door, helping someone close to home takes on a bit more meaning. 

“To be able to help someone locally in your community is really special,” she said.