Artist and great-grandmother Lesley Hunter has a vibrant view of the world that shines through her art. 

“I’m big and bold in my work – I’ve got paint on me, paint on the floor, paint on the dog, paint on everything else,” she says. 

Lesley has lived with glaucoma for a decade after a surprise diagnosis several years ago. 

“I believe my parents may have had it, but that is something that I’ve never been able to confirm,” she says. 

Her condition is well managed and she still enjoys both painting and travel, but she is also contributing to the future of glaucoma treatment by participating in research. 

Every six months she takes the train to Melbourne from her studio in Beaufort, in central Victoria, to the Centre for Eye Research Australia. 

Sandy Rezk is an optometrist and Clinical Research Coordinator at CERA and says Lesley and people like her are an inspiration. 

“Lesley has undergone extensive imaging, all at the age of 80 and always with a positive attitude and great big smile,” says Sandy. 

Lesley hopes that her efforts will contribute to new ways to understand and treat glaucoma. 

“If the research team learns something from me that can help someone else see, that’s everything I can hope for.” 

This story was originally published in Share our vision: Annual Review 2024.