David SABISTON Obituary

Rest in peace old friend

It was early 1980s. I think I was 20 or 21 yrs old at the time. The sight in my right eye was nearly gone. I was referred to Mr Sabiston for a corneal graft. It was an "unknown" to me but Mr Sabiston was a lovely man. Very reassuring, kind and gentle manner. The surgery must have gone exceptionally well because I have never had any problem with the graft over the years. I wore contact lenses after my graft had healed. I never had problems with wearing a lens in that eye either. Now, I wear spectacles. No one knows how grateful I am to Mr Sabiston. I feel appreciative and indebited to him. Now I have surpassed 40 years of sight from my R) eye. I am sorry I didn't know where I could go to thank you personally. Rest in peace Mr Sabiston.

I am very sorry to hear about the loss of David

Happy memories of long time ago Sabo.
Never forgotten.
Dawn Harvey

Many good memories of socialising with Dave when living in Napier 1970's. An unassuming expert in his field who did a correction of a squint in my youngest son's eye and at same time plastic surgery on a mole on his chin. Unforgettable fellow. Sincere condolences to the Sabiston family.

Dr Sabiston performed 9 operations on me as a baby through to about 10 years old and 1 operation in my late teens. I had a lazy eye and he managed to straighten them up. He was a such a kind lovely man!! My Mum had some hilarious stories of what it was like taking me as a chatty toddler to his surgery with him trying to determine what I could and couldn´t see. My parents knew him well and put so much trust in him. His abilities were phenomenal. Huge condolences to his family xxx

In 1980 Dr Sabiston performed a cornea graft on me which lasted 42 years which was two to three times longer than generally expected. His work load at the time was phenomenal.