Healthy Living | Summer Issue | 2018 21
From Darkness to Sight
chronicles the remarkable life
journey of Dr. Ming Wang,
a world-renowned laser eye
surgeon, philanthropist and
Kiwanis Nashvillian of the Year.
As a teenager, Ming fought valiantly
to escape one of history’s darkest
eras—China’s Cultural Revolution—
during which millions of innocent
youth were deported to remote areas to face a life
sentence of poverty and hard labor. Through his
own tenacity and his parents’ tireless efforts to
provide a chance of freedom for their son, Ming
eventually made his way to America with $50 in
his pocket and an American dream in his heart,
where against all odds he would earn a PhD
in laser physics and graduate magna cum laude
with the highest honors from Harvard Medical
School and MIT. He embraced his Christian
faith and tackled one of the most important
questions of our time—Are faith and science
friends or foes?—which led to his invention of
a breakthrough biotechnology to restore sight.
To date, Dr. Wang has performed over 55,000 eye
procedures and has treated patients from nearly
every state in the U.S. and from over 55 countries
worldwide. He is considered the “doctor’s doctor,”
as he has operated on over 4,000 physicians. Dr.
Wang has published 8 textbooks and a paper in
the world-renowned journal Nature, holds several
U.S. patents and performed the world’s first laser
artificial cornea implantation. He is the recipient
of the Honor Award from American Academy of
Ophthalmology and the Lifetime Achievement
Award from the Association of Chinese
American Physicians. Dr. Wang is currently
the only surgeon in the state who performs
3D LASIK (18+), 3D Kamra
(45+), 3D Forever Young Lens (50+) and 3D
Laser Cataract Surgery. Dr. Wang established
a non-profit foundation which provides sight
restoration surgeries for indigent patients who
otherwise would never have the opportunity to
receive them free-of-charge.
This is a story of one man’s inspirational
journey, of turning fear, poverty, persecution
and prejudice into healing and love for others.
It demonstrates how focus, determination,
humility and profound faith can inspire a life
that, in turn, impacts that of countless others.