To her mum, it was despair and to Ciella, life as she had known it was over and she had begun to imagine living with blindness…

Just a few months ago, Ciella and her family consulted CTSOE. The 13-year-old girl was in critical situation because she could not see. Complaining about eye problem since she was almost 7, Ciella was only brought to the Centre (CTSOE) after she had lost her vision for 6 years. She could not see and she had serious and intense headache but the family, relying on a small piece of land for  survival, could not afford to bring her to the hospital.  “We live in critical situation, we could not respond to her complaints on time, there were other priorities” her mother says. Ciella continued to live with the eye problem. Though she struggled to see on the blackboard and was sometimes obliged to come near the blackboard so that she could see, she fought to continue her studies, until it was no longer possible.

Fortunately, …

When she finally made it to the hospital, she was diagnosed with bilateral cataract. A free cataract surgery was performed by a CTSOE surgeon. And she recovered her sight. As Patrick, the ophthalmologist who treated her testifies, Ciella was lucky because her cataract did not hamper her visual development.  When Ciella’s mum saw her reading after the surgery, she could not believe her eyes. She praised the lord who had given her child another chance and thanked the center for the amazing help.