By: Eyes 2 Eyes
In 2018, my world tumbled into uncertainty and vulnerability. I became blind within three weeks due to a rare parasitic infection. Nothing prepared me for the emotional and physical roller coaster that was to follow over three years. I was in a desperate fight to restore my vision and health.
On countless trips to doctors’ appointments using Uber, my white cane inevitably led to conversations with the drivers about blindness in their communities. How did a blind person living in sub-economic conditions get the help they needed?
The answer was devastating. Help was not at hand, despite a solution being
available.
My heart broke with each story I heard. Stories of visually impaired children being bullied at school and eventually dropping out. Stories of young blind mothers unable to see their babies faces. Stories of blind young men unable to work to support their families. A common thread of isolation and depression adding to their despair.
Something had to be done to help these unseen beautiful young South Africans. My slow journey back into the light was a catalyst for the start of the Eyes2Eyes Foundation. Our focus at Eyes2Eyes is funding highly customized scleral lenses, imported from New Zealand, to restore the sight of young South Africans living with corneal blindness. These specialized lenses are not available in public hospitals.
Together with the incredible support of our donor friends, we have restored the vision of 61 young people so far. Another 75 young people are waiting for their phone call to say your time has come. Collectively, our work together is spreading beautiful light into the darkness, one eye at a time. We cannot thank our donors and friends enough for being part of this journey.
This is a message we received on Monday from Sipho, one of our beneficiaries in Gqeberha. “I just got employed last week. I am working and so excited for this journey. I am so happy that my scleral lenses have helped me to get employment.
Back then, I could not get a job because I could not see. Now I am no longer unemployed.” This is the impact of customized scleral lenses on the lives of young adults. They move from a place of hopelessness to infinite possibility.
12-year-old Keziah-Lee Martin, from Hanover Park, was fitted with her specialized scleral lenses on 28 June. Like Sipho, she has an eye condition called Keratoconus, which causes her corneas to bulge and thin. The cornea is the first point of entry of light into the eye.
When it is diseased and distorted, light rays enter the eye at different angles. This means they do not focus on one point on the retina, but on many different points, causing a very blurred and distorted image. The onset of Keratoconus is usually in the early teenage years.
The impact of vision loss on a young teenager’s life is immense – education is severely impacted; depression and isolation are common threads in the lives of these patients as they struggle to navigate life without even being able to see the definition of a person’s facial features.
Keziah Lee’s story is one filled with endless hospital visits, surgery and frustration. Standard contact lenses and glasses were not a solution for Keziah Lee. Her mom Carren, reflected on the buildup to this day, remembering the agony of wondering if her daughter would ever see clearly again.
Finally, that moment has arrived and her journey to fully functional vision has begun. Today Keziah Lee can see the board in her classroom and engage with her friends in outdoor activities and do all the things young children like to do. We are immensely grateful to her donors for making her sight restoration possible.
Eyes2Eyes is a registered non-profit and Public Benefit Organization. Donations to Eyes2Eyes are tax free in the hands of the donors. Our level 1 B-BBEE status affords companies the opportunity to partner with us as part of their Corporate Social Investment initiatives. For more information, please contact Amanda on 0834005882 or email amanda@eyes2eyes.org.za. Further information about Eyes2Eyes can be found on our website at www.eyes2eyes.org.za
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