TN Health & Wellness article: Dancing with the stars at EyeBall

Details: Written by Wang Foundation for sight restoration

What do Congresswoman Diane Black, Congressman Glen Casada, news anchors Rudy Kalis and Vicki Yates, real estate businesswoman Shirley Zeitlin, and world-renowned cataract and LASIK surgeon Dr. Ming Wang all have in common? Ballroom dancing at this year’s annual EyeBall!

On Saturday, September 29th, 2012, the “who’s who” of Nashville put on their tuxes and ball gowns, and waltzed the night away at the 8th annual “EyeBall”, which took place at downtown’s Renaissance Hotel. This evening of splendor was hosted by the 501c(3) non-profit charity, the Wang Foundation for Sight Restoration (www.WangFoundation.com) and its founder, Dr. Ming Wang.

Helping Patients Around the World
To date, the foundation has helped patients from over 40 states in the U.S. and 55 countries, with all sight restoration surgeries performed free-of-charge.

This year’s EyeBall, attended by nearly 500 guests, was an affair to remember. Featuring the first ever “Dancing with the Stars at the EyeBall”, local celebrities participated in a ballroom dancing competition, judged by three talented judges, Congresswoman Diane Black, Danceworld owner and professional teacher Danny Baye, and “dancing doctor”, Dr. Ming Wang.

Following this entertaining event were breathtaking ballroom dance shows in waltz and Latin American cha cha, performed by professional dancers. To add to the grandeur of the evening, guests enjoyed a silent auction of luxurious items hosted by The Diamond Corporation, a delicious gourmet dinner, a captivating magic show by magician Kevin King, and songs by featured vocalist Mirka Snellenburg, who was accompanied by a dynamic African folk dance group from the Global Educational Center and a spectacular live band.

Testimonial of the Joy and Awe of Now Having Sight
As you can imagine, this black tie soiree was anything BUT black and white! Later, Danny and Sharlene Baye got everyone on the dance floor where they were given a ballroom dance lesson in swing and waltz. The EyeBall 2012 chair, Congresswoman Diane Black, gave a keynote speech, followed by foundation patient, Martha Adams’ emotional testimonial about the pain and agony of once being blind and living in darkness, and the joy and awe of now having sight as a result of the remarkable sight restoration surgeries performed free-of-charge by the foundation doctors.

World’s First Amniotic Membrane Contact Lens to Restore Sight to the Blind
EyeBall attendees also watched a video about the foundation’s research and the development of the world’s first amniotic membrane contact lens to restore sight to the blind. For their contributions and support, foundation board members and sponsors were acknowledged, including Mark Hilliard, Darrell Denson, Dr. Jeff Carter, Tonya Sherell, Dr. Rob Szeliga, Alan Davenport, Eliud Trevino, Dr. Craig McCabe, Dr. Bob Simon, Ann and Tony Hollingsworth, Charles Grummon, Carol Waugh, Scott Mertie, James Looper, Vivien Wang, Brenda Lee, Dr. Helen Boerman, Ted Welch and Dr. Amy Waymire. Local celebrities spotted at EyeBall 2012 also included Colleen Conway-Welch and Ted Welch, and Farcin and Ziba Fardowsi.

About the foundation founder Dr. Ming Wang:
Ming Wang, MD, PhD, is the founder and chairman of Wang Foundation for Sight Restoration, a 501c(3) non-profit charity, a Harvard and MIT graduate (MD, magna cum laude) and an internationally renowned LASIK eye surgeon. Dr. Wang performed the world’s first 3D LASIK surgery and the state’s first 3D cataract surgery.

Wang Vision Cataract and LASIK center is currently the only center in the state that has the 3D LASIK and 3D cataract surgery technology. Dr. Wang has performed over 55,000 LASIK procedures (including on over 4,000 doctors) and is one of the designated LASIK surgeons for ABC’s national hit reality TV show “Extreme Makeover”. During the Cultural Revolution in China in the 1970s, a teenage Ming played a Chinese musical instrument called the er-hu in an effort to escape being deported to a remote part of the country where he would be condemned to a life of poverty and hard labor, a devastating fate that fell upon 20 million youth in China. Dr. Wang has come a long way from the penniless young man he was when he arrived in the US in 1982, and is now one of the few LASIK surgeons in the world who holds a doctorate degree in laser physics. He published a paper in the world renowned journal Nature, holds several US patents for his inventions of new biotechnologies to restore sight, and performed the world’s first laser-assisted artificial cornea implantation. Dr. Wang is currently one of only three surgeons in the U.S. conducting a U.S. FDA clinical trial research on a breakthrough new eye surgery to treat age-related loss of near vision and performed the first such new eye surgery in the southern United States. He established the Wang Foundation for Sight Restoration, a 501c(3) charity foundation which has helped blind patients from over 40 states in the U.S. and over 55 countries worldwide, with all sight restoration surgeries performed free-of-charge.

Dr. Wang can be reached at: Ming Wang, MD, PhD, Wang Foundation for Sight Restoration, 1801 West End Avenue, Suite 1150, Nashville, TN, 37203, Phone: 615-321-8881, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or