Thanks to sight-saving surgery, Omisha can see, learn, and grow with confidence.
When Omisha was born, her mother noticed a small white spot in her eye. She hoped it would disappear on its own. But Omisha’s older sister, Anvi, had already been through cataract surgery at the age of four, and the family feared history was repeating itself.
“I thought, I’ll take her home, I’ll feed her, maybe she will be okay,” her mum said. “My family said, ‘Why don’t we take her to the eye department?’ but I was reluctant because one already had it. I was scared to hear that same news again.”
She held books and toys right up to her face, squinted in the sunlight, and couldn’t spot small things on the floor. “She used to close her eyes when the light was on,” her mum explained.
Her parents would point out planes in the sky, but Omisha couldn’t see them. “She would keep asking, ‘Where is it? Where is it?’”
At the Pacific Eye Institute in Suva, Fiji, doctors confirmed that Omisha had cataracts in both eyes.
Omisha had her first surgery on her right eye when she was very small. Recovery was painful at first, but after a week her vision began to improve.
By the time her second surgery came around, the family felt calm and confident. They had already seen what was possible for Anvi, and for Omisha’s first operation. “We have some experience,” her dad said. “This is our fourth time.”
Omisha herself was ready too. “She understands very well,” her mum said. The doctors encouraged the family to act quickly so her schooling would not be affected.
When the bandages came off, her dad asked if she could see the balloons in the hospital ward. At first she couldn’t, but later at home she proudly pointed to a balloon and said she could see it.
From that moment, her world began to open up. She wanted to write, draw, and explore. “This one is very talkative,” her dad said. “She is smarter than the others,” her mum added.
Omisha can now read and write without holding everything so close. She plays happily outdoors and joins in with the children around her.
“She can have her studies,” her mum said. “She won’t have problems in school. Now she won’t have to miss out.”
Your support can restore sight and give children the chance to learn, play and thrive.
