Siblings see Christmas for the first time

Dec 27, 2020 News

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Born blind…

By Rehanna Ramsay

Kaieteur News – Unlike most children, six year-old Shenny-Ann, five year-old Shelly-Ann, Two year-old Tariq and one-year-old Aaron are four children from Zeelugt, West Coast Demerara, who actually got to see and experience Christmas for the first time.
The four children are the offspring of Mr. Ghanie and Miss Lisa Henry. All four of these siblings were born with congenital cataract, a condition where the lens of the eyes is opacified from birth which causes blindness.
In 50 percent of children, only one eye may be affected and hence the child may see clearly from the other eye. This usually causes parents not to recognize that the child has a problem in one eye. In the case of the Ghanie family, both of the eyes were affected in all four of the children. Hence, neither of the children has been able to see the world until now.
Their story was highlighted on social media in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. A video by “Sheikh and Sonia” highlighted the impoverished conditions that their family was living in.Mr. Ghanie, who is a carpenter by profession, was out of a job due to the pandemic and could not provide for his four children.
They lived in a 10’x10’ one-bedroom zinc sheet shack in the squatting area of Zeelugt. The shack has one bed and a hammock that was shared by the entire family of six with a single table top kitchen area.
Their story caught the eyes of many organisations who reached out. Mr. Munesh Ruplall of Ready Mix Concrete reached out to the family and was able to move the family towards a rented accommodation.
Contact was made with Optique Vision Care – a leading eye care service provider in Guyana that co-ordinate many charitable vision saving outreaches. Optique Vision Care arranged for the children to be examined by lead ophthalmologist (eye surgeon), Dr. Shailendra Sugrim.

Dr. Sugrim confirmed that all four children were blinded by congenital cataracts to both eyes. After further investigation it was discovered that the mother of the children and an aunt of the children also suffered with similar condition when they were younger. In light of this, it was deduced this was a condition inherited through the genes of the mother’s family. Examination of the mother’s eye also revealed that she is suffering with low vision due to her long-term consequences of this condition.
Treatment of completely opaque congenital cataracts is by early surgery (cataract surgery to remove opaque lens with replacement with artificial intraocular lens). Unlike adults with full-sized eyes, children need special surgical instruments and techniques and most importantly they need to be done under general anaesthesia. When performed by an experienced surgeon, cataract removal is generally safe.
Dr. Sugrim has been performing paediatric cataract surgeries for the past 10 years and immediately volunteered to perform the procedures without charging any surgeon fee.
During the period of the pandemic most hospitals had ceased elective surgical procedures and hence Dr. Sugrim arranged for the surgery of the three older siblings at Woodlands Hospital – a private institution in the city. Hospital fees and cost for surgery and anaestheia were covered by Optique Vision Care and Mr. Ruplall. The youngest child’s surgery was arranged to be done at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. All pre-operative tests and preparation for surgery costs were provided by Optique Vision Care’s charitable programme.
The treatment of congenital cataracts is usually long-term and the children need regular follow-up care. Surgery is the first step in a long series of tasks to ensure that vision is restored to these children.
After congenital cataract surgery, these children often need to be monitored for secondary complications such as strabismus (squint), glaucoma, detached retina, infection, post-operative inflammatory reactions, further surgery such as release of scars and secondary intraocular lens implantation.
Post-surgical patients also need regular follow up with paediatric optometrists as much as every six months to assess for spectacles, contact lenses. One significant effect of congenital cataracts is amblyopia. Due to the inability to see objects in the early years of life, children do not “learn” to see and hence their vision may become permanently blunted/decreased in what is referred to as a “lazy eye”. Close monitoring of these children will allow for treatment options such as patching, which encourages the child to repair the connection between the eye and the brain to allow for improvement in clarity of vision.
Ongoing monitoring of these children are being done by the Optique Vision Care team of ophthalmologists and optometrists (of which one paediatric optometrist, Ms. Claudia Sanchez was integrally involved). Regular checks for spectacles, follow-up and spectacles are provided free of charge by the Optique Vision Care’s charitable programme.
According to Dr. Sugrim, from birth to the age of eight years, the eyes of children go through a period where they learn to see and this allows their eyes to develop a strong connection with the brain. Any obstruction in vision (such as cataracts, trauma, eyelid abnormalities and refractive errors, etc.) can disrupt this learning process. Without treatment, cataracts will lead to permanent deficient eye-brain connections that lead to a life time of impaired vision. For this reason, it is important that congenital cataracts need to be detected early and treated at earliest chance to prevent permanent vision loss in children. Examination by a doctor, during infancy and childhood, are able to detect most congenital cataracts. Close observation by parents is also another way in which this condition is discovered.
A new lease on life is now extended to the four Ghanie siblings who are now able to see their parents’ faces and to see objects around them, which will allow them to gain a better quality of life. This year is extra special as they will be celebrating this joyous season of Christmas with their gift of vision. During this season, Nurse Amanda Jarvis and Nurse Welch – two of the nurses that assisted with their surgeries at the Woodlands Hospital – have gathered a collection of clothing, toys, books and sweets for the four siblings, which they presented to the children at the East Street Office of Optique Vision Care. During this season, the Optique Vision Care’s charitable programme would like to encourage us all to continue to exude compassion, kindness and charity to the less fortunate amongst us.

 

 

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