Štefánia in Komono and Kaleos frames

"Mrs. Zita helped me a lot. I was surprised by how long the examination took. I've been wearing glasses for years, but no one had ever given me that kind of attention before. Everything went smoothly."

1. june 2026, Author: Barbara Garaj, Photo: Jakub Čaprnka, archive: Ján Suchý, Štefánia Suchá

Štefánia was brought to ZITA by her granddaughter Ivana, one of our loyal regulars. Grandma Štefánia had been struggling with her vision — people on the street were becoming harder to recognise, as if she were looking at the world through a layer of fog.

During her examination with Zitka, it turned out that Štefánia had cataracts in both eyes and needed surgery. A few months after the procedure, she came back to the practice for a follow-up — and while her vision had improved, she still needed glasses.

"I thought that after the operation I wouldn't need glasses for outdoors anymore, but the examination at ZITA showed it wasn't quite there yet. So now I have two pairs — one for reading and one for distance."

When trying on frames, Štefánia chose a delicate metal frame by Komono — she was drawn to its shape and colour. For reading, she wears a green model from Spanish brand Kaleos.

Štefánia has lived in Stupava her whole life. She knows its streets, its park, its people — especially those from the Mást neighbourhood, once a village of its own. She worked in Bratislava, cleaned offices, and at home took care of her family, her garden, and everything that life around the house brought with it.

For years, she and her husband Ján collected old photographs — from Stupava, from Mást, and from Bratislava.

Their archive holds over 2,000 images, which Štefánia carefully scanned and catalogued: group portraits, wedding snapshots, funeral processions, and celebrations that once brought the whole village together.

"My husband and I collected and archived the photographs gradually. I was in charge of the scanner, the printer, and the records from the parish chronicle. We managed to trace things all the way back to the 16th century — and from all that, my husband would put together family trees."

Štefánia raised four children and now delights in nine grandchildren. She spends most of her time with her eldest granddaughter Ivana, with whom she shares a special understanding.

Ivana is the one who comes up with plans for the two of them — theatre trips, visits to the Botanical Garden, and for a while, afternoons at the Slovak National Gallery, taking in art side by side.

"Ivanka always comes up with something and we go somewhere together. We even went to the opera — I loved it, it was wonderful."

Alongside work, Štefánia sewed and knitted. She remembers a time when you had to make most things yourself. Whenever she wanted something a little prettier, a little different, she'd reach for a Burda magazine and sit down at her sewing machine.

These days, she enjoys walking around Stupava, spending time in the park, and talking to people — even ones she doesn't know. What brings them together is the town itself, and often a string of shared acquaintances.

Conversations give Štefánia energy. And we're glad she gets to look at the world around her a little more clearly again.