Health

David Paton, Creator of Flying Eye Hospital, Dies at 94

Published

8 months ago

April 26, 2025

David Paton, Creator of Flying Eye Hospital, Dies at 94

David Paton, an idealistic and innovative ophthalmologist who started Project Orbis, converting a United Airlines jet into a flying hospital that took surgeons to developing countries to operate on patients and educate local doctors, died on April 3 at his home in Reno, Nev. He was 94.

His death was confirmed by his son, Townley.

The son of a prominent New York eye surgeon whose patients included the Shah of Iran and the financier J. Pierpont Morgan’s horse, Dr. Paton (pronounced PAY-ton) was teaching at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University in the early 1970s when he became discouraged by increasing cases of preventable blindness in far-flung places.

“More eye doctors were needed,” he wrote in his memoir, “Second Sight: Views from an Eye Doctor’s Odyssey” (2011), “but equally important was the need to beef up the existing doctors’ medical education.”

But how?

He considered shipping trunks of equipment — almost the way a circus would — but that presented logistical challenges. He pondered the possibility of using a medical ship like the one that Project Hope, a humanitarian group, sent around the world. That was too slow for him.

“Shortly after the first moon landing in 1969, thinking big was becoming a reality,” Dr. Paton wrote.

And then a moonshot idea struck him: “Could an aircraft be the answer? A large enough aircraft could be converted into an operating theater, a teaching classroom and all the necessary facilities.”

All he needed was a plane. He asked the military to donate one, but that was a nonstarter. He approached several universities for the money to buy one, but administrators turned him down, saying the idea wasn’t feasible.

“David was willing to take risks that others wouldn’t,” Bruce Spivey, the founding president of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, said in an interview. “He was charming. He was inspiring. And he didn’t quit.”

Dr. Paton decided to raise funds on his own. In 1973, he founded Project Orbis with a group of wealthy, well-connected society figures like the Texas oilman Leonard F. McCollum and Betsy Trippe Wainwright, the daughter of the Pan American World Airways founder Juan Trippe.

In 1980, Mr. Trippe helped persuade the United Airlines chief executive Edward Carlson to donate a DC-8 jet. The United States Agency for International Development contributed $1.25 million to convert the plane into a hospital with an operating room, recovery area and a classroom equipped with televisions, so local medical workers could watch surgeries.

Surgeons and nurses volunteered their services, agreeing to spend two to four weeks abroad. The first flight, in 1982, was to Panama. The plane then went to Peru, Jordan, Nepal and beyond. Mother Teresa once visited. So did the Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

In 1999, The Sunday Times of London’s magazine sent a reporter to Cuba to write about the plane, now known as the Flying Eye Hospital. One of the patients who arrived was a 14-year-old girl named Julia.

“In developed nations, Julia’s condition would have been little more than an irritation,” The Sunday Times article said. “It is almost certain she had uveitis, an inflammation inside the eye, which can be cleared with drops. In Britain, even cats are easily treated.”

Her doctor was Edward Holland, a prominent eye surgeon.

“Holland uses tiny knives to make openings that allow him to get his instruments into the eye, and soon he is pulling at Julia’s scar tissue,” The Sunday Times article said. “As the tissue is pulled away, a dark and liquid pupil, unseen for a decade, is revealed. It is an intimate and moving moment; this is medicine’s chamber music. Next, he breaks up and removes the cataract, and implants a lens so that the eye will keep its shape.”

The Cuban ophthalmologists watching in the viewing room applauded.

But after the surgery, Julia still couldn’t see.

“And then a minor miracle begins,” the article said. “As the swelling begins to go down, she makes discoveries about the world around her. Minute by minute she can see something new.”

David Paton was born on Aug. 16, 1930, in Baltimore, and grew up in Manhattan. His father, Richard Townley Paton, specialized in corneal transplants and founded the Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration. His mother, Helen (Meserve) Paton, was an interior designer.

In his memoir, he described growing up “among the fine, intellectually sharp, widely traveled persons of the Establishment.” His father practiced on Park Avenue. His mother threw parties at their home on the Upper East Side.

David attended the Hill School, a boarding school in Pottstown, Pa. There, he met James A. Baker III, a Texan who later became secretary of state for President George H.W. Bush. They were roommates at Princeton University and lifelong best friends.

“David came from a very privileged background, but he was down to earth and just a very likable guy,” Mr. Baker said in an interview. “He had his objectives in life straight. He was a hell of a lot better student than I was.”

After graduating from Princeton in 1952, David earned his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University. He worked in senior positions at the Wilmer Eye Institute and served as chairman of the ophthalmology department at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

In 1979, while still trying to procure a plane for Project Orbis, he became the medical director of the King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

“Among my duties,” he wrote in his memoir, “was providing eye care for many of the princes and princesses of the kingdom — about 5,000 of each, I was told — and it seemed that all of them insisted on being treated exclusively by the doctor in charge, no matter how minor their complaint.”

Dr. Paton’s marriages to Jane Sterling Treman and Jane Franke ended in divorce. He married Diane Johnston in 1985. She died in 2022.

In addition to his son, he is survived by two granddaughters.

Dr. Paton left his role as medical director of Project Orbis in 1987, after a dispute with the board of directors. That year, President Ronald Reagan awarded him the Presidential Citizens Medal.

Although his official connection with the organization had ended, he occasionally served as an informal adviser.

Now called Orbis International, the organization is on its third plane, an MD-10 donated by Federal Express.

From 2014 to 2023, Orbis performed more than 621,000 surgeries and procedures, according to its most recent annual report, and offered more than 424,000 training sessions to doctors, nurses and other providers.

“The plane is just such a unique venue,” Dr. Hunter Cherwek, the organization’s vice president of clinical services and technologies, said in an interview. “It was just an incredibly bold and visionary idea.”

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Health

Common household chemicals linked to increased risk of serious neurological condition

Published

8 hours ago

December 23, 2025

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Common household chemicals linked to increased risk of serious neurological condition

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A study from Sweden’s Uppsala University discovered a link between microplastics and multiple sclerosis (MS).

The research, published in the journal Environmental International, discovered that exposure to two common environmental contaminants, PFAS and PCBs, could increase the risk of the autoimmune disease.

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as “forever chemicals,” are used in some common household products, such as non-stick cookware, textiles and cleaning products. They have also been found in drinking water throughout the U.S., according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

COMMON CLEANING CHEMICAL TIED TO SPIKE IN LIVER DISEASE ACROSS US, RESEARCHERS SAY

PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are toxic industrial chemicals once widely used in electrical equipment before being banned decades ago, as stated by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

The new study findings were based on blood samples of 1,800 Swedish individuals, including about 900 who had recently been diagnosed with MS, according to a university press release.

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as “forever chemicals,” are used in some common household products, including non-stick cookware. (iStock)

The first phase of the trial studied 14 different PFAS contaminants and three substances that appear when PCBs are broken down in the body. These were then investigated for a link to the odds of diagnosis.

‘FOREVER CHEMICALS’ FOUND IN US DRINKING WATER, MAP SHOWS ‘HOT SPOTS’ OF HIGHEST LEVELS

“We saw that several individual substances, such as PFOS and two hydroxylated PCBs, were linked to increased odds for MS,” lead study author Kim Kultima said in a statement. “People with the highest concentrations of PFOS and PCBs had approximately twice the odds of being diagnosed with MS, compared to those with the lowest concentrations.”

The researchers then examined the combined effects of these substances and found that the mixture was also linked to increased risk.

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Fellow researcher Aina Vaivade noted that risk assessments should consider chemical mixtures, not just individual exposures, because people are typically exposed to multiple substances at the same time.

“We saw that several individual substances, such as PFOS and two hydroxylated PCBs, were linked to increased odds for MS,” the lead study author said. (iStock)

The final phase of the study investigated the relationship between inheritance, chemical exposure and the odds of MS diagnosis, revealing that those who carry a certain gene variant actually have a reduced MS risk.

However, individuals who carried the gene and had higher exposure to PFOS — a singular type of chemical in the PFAS family — had an “unexpected” increased risk of MS.

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“This indicates that there is a complex interaction between inheritance and environmental exposure linked to the odds of MS,” Kultima said.

“We therefore think it is important to understand how environmental contaminants interact with hereditary factors, as this can provide new knowledge about the genesis of MS and could also be relevant for other diseases.”

Multiple sclerosis is a disease that leads to the breakdown of the protective covering of the nerves, according to Mayo Clinic. (iStock)

Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel commented on these findings in an interview with Fox News Digital.

“MS is a complex disease that is somewhat autoimmune and somewhat post-inflammatory,” said Siegel, who was not involved in the study. “Epstein-Barr virus infection greatly increases the risk of MS.”

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“There is every reason to believe that environmental triggers play a role, including microplastics, and this important study shows a correlation, but not causation — in other words, it doesn’t prove that the microplastics caused MS.”

The study had some limitations, the researchers acknowledged, including that the chemical exposure was measured only once, at the time of blood sampling. This means it may not accurately represent participants’ long-term or past exposure levels relevant to MS development.

“There is every reason to believe that environmental triggers play a role.”

Fox News Digital reached out to several industry groups and manufacturers requesting comment on the potential link between PFAS chemicals and multiple sclerosis.

Several have issued public statements, including the American Chemistry Council, which states on its website that “manufacturers and many users of today’s PFAS are implementing a variety of practices and technologies to help minimize environmental emissions.”

In April 2024, the EPA enacted a new federal rule that sets mandatory limits on certain PFAS chemicals in drinking water, aiming to reduce exposure. The agency also aims to fund testing and treatment efforts.

A woman working out outdoors takes a sip of water from a plastic bottle. (iStock)

Multiple sclerosis is a disease that leads to the breakdown of the protective coverings that surround nerve fibers, according to Mayo Clinic.

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The immune system’s attack on these nerve sheaths can cause numbness, weakness, trouble walking and moving, vision changes and other symptoms, and can lead to permanent damage.

There is currently no cure for MS, Mayo Clinic reports, but treatment is available to manage symptoms and modify the course of the disease.

Angelica Stabile is a lifestyle reporter for Fox News Digital.

Health

Natural Ozempic? 6 GLP-1 Foods That Work Just Like the Shot

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19 hours ago

December 22, 2025

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Natural Ozempic? 6 GLP-1 Foods That Work Just Like the Shot

6 GLP-1 Foods That Boost Weight Loss Naturally—No Injections Needed | Woman’s World

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Health

Simple daily habit could help people with type 2 diabetes manage blood sugar

Published

20 hours ago

December 22, 2025

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Simple daily habit could help people with type 2 diabetes manage blood sugar

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Sitting next to a window may help people with type 2 diabetes control their insulin levels, according to new research.

The study, published in Cell Metabolism, found that exposure to natural light — even indoors next to a window — changes how the body processes glucose and uses energy.

People in Western societies spend 80% to 90% of their time under artificial lights, which are much dimmer and less dynamic than sunlight, the researchers noted. Natural daylight is a powerful cue for the body’s internal clock, also known as the circadian rhythm.

EXPERTS REVEAL EXACT BEDTIME THAT COULD PREVENT LATE-NIGHT ‘SECOND WIND’ INSOMNIA

The body’s internal clock influences many processes, including digestion, hormone release and metabolism, according to research. When it gets out of sync, it can worsen insulin resistance and blood sugar control, which are two of the main issues caused by type 2 diabetes.

Typical lighting in homes and offices is much dimmer and lacks the biological signals provided by natural daylight. (iStock)

To test the effects of daylight on blood sugar, scientists recruited 13 adults with type 2 diabetes. Each person spent two separate 4.5-day periods in a controlled office setting, according to a press release.

DIABETES PREVENTION LINKED TO SPECIFIC TYPE OF EXERCISE, STUDY SHOWS

In one period, they worked in front of large windows with natural daylight streaming in. In the other period, participants worked in the same room with the windows covered and were exposed only to typical indoor lighting.

Daylight isn’t a replacement for medication or traditional management strategies like diet and exercise, the researchers noted.

Everyone ate similar meals, followed the same schedule and continued their usual diabetes medications in both conditions.

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While average blood sugar levels didn’t differ drastically between the two conditions, people spent more time in the healthy glucose range when they were exposed to natural daylight — their blood sugar fluctuated less and stayed within a desirable range for a greater portion of the day.

Participants who were exposed to daylight burned more fat and fewer carbohydrates, a metabolic pattern linked to better blood sugar regulation. (iStock)

Exposure to natural light also affected metabolism. In daylight, participants burned more fat and fewer carbohydrates for energy.

Muscle biopsies and laboratory tests further showed that the genes responsible for the body’s cellular clocks were more synchronized under natural light conditions, the study revealed.

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Better alignment of these genes can improve nutrient processing and how cells respond to insulin, the researchers concluded.

Sitting near windows or spending more time outdoors could support diabetes management alongside standard treatments, researchers say. (iStock)

However, daylight isn’t a replacement for medication or traditional management strategies like diet and exercise, according to the team.

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The study did have some limitations, including that the group of patients was small. The researchers cautioned that larger studies are needed to confirm these results and determine how much natural light exposure is optimal.

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“This study also highlights the often unnoticed impact of the built environment on our health, and raises further concerns about the prevalence of office environments with poor (natural) daylight access,” the researchers noted.

Khloe Quill is a lifestyle production assistant with Fox News Digital. She and the lifestyle team cover a range of story topics including food and drink, travel, and health.