'I Just Had That Feeling'

'I Just Had That Feeling'

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Story Published: Sep 19, 2006 at 4:21 PM PDT

Story Updated: Aug 31, 2006 at 8:57 AM PDT

By John Sharify

SEATTLE - Barbara Gregg had a hunch and acted on it. "I just had that feeling," said Gregg, who works as a surgical liaison at Seattle's Harborview Medical Center. Thank goodness for hunches.

The story begins in Vietnam. That's where Barbara Gregg met 5-year-old Nguyen Thi Hong Duyen. It was at a center for children with special needs. Gregg was volunteering with a Seattle group that goes there.

The kids call her "The click click lady," says Gregg with a smile. 'Click click' because of the polaroid pictures she takes.

When Gregg snapped a photo of Nguyen Thi Hon Duyen, the girl could not see the picture of herself. "She was blind," says Gregg. Was. Past tense.

Now she's not, thanks to a Seattle woman who helped her see. That's where Gregg's hunch comes in.

Barbara Gregg thought that maybe with simple surgery her new friend's vision could be restored. She was right. The girl had cataracts and Gregg arranged for the procedure from Seattle. With the help of donations, she paid for everything.

And then, one of the best days of her life. It's when she got word that the surgery was a success!

"I thought I need to go up and down James Street three times because I cannot contain myself and then I started crying," says Gregg.

Tears of joy. And there will be more tears because Gregg made the arrangements for Nguyen's older brother to get cataract surgery too. The surgery is set for next week.

For more information about how you can help other children at the Vietnamese clinic, go to www.nncvietnam.org. It will have information about the Nguyen Nga Center for Children with Special Needs.

Barbara Gregg has also been doing volunteer work for Kids First Vietnam. You can visit the group's website at www.kidsfirst vietnam.org.

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