Zaydan, a brave 6-year-old boy from Fiji, had to travel far from home and go through two eye operations in just three days, plus weeks of recovery, to get his sight back. It was a scary journey, but it changed his life.
He came with two other children whose eyes also needed immediate attention. The outreach was at a small hospital there, to help patients whose eye problems required immediate attention.
Jyoti, Zaydan’s mother, shares how they came to make this journey:
“Zaydan was not born with cataracts. However, he started having problems with his eyes when he was about four. Sometimes he did not recognise people. He couldn’t read very well, saying the type was too small. I did not really understand what his problems were. Then in March last year, something happened that told me they were serious.
He was talking to me in the house, and he was looking in a totally different direction from where I was. He couldn’t see me! After I took him to the doctor to have his eyes checked, he was referred to the hospital. They said he had cataracts in both eyes, one was really bad, the other nearly as much.”
“I was desperate, I was told the only way to get an operation was to go overseas, take Zaydan to New Zealand or Australia. They said the operation was urgent. But we could not go overseas. Zaydan’s sight was getting worse, and I was so worried. Without his eyes what sort of life would he have?
Then something wonderful happened. At work, one of my superiors said, ‘Have you thought about Fred Hollows? They will help you.’
In desperation, I contacted The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ on social media and they were amazing. I want to tell you that. The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ was very good to us. They said they could not currently operate at the Pacific Eye Institute, it was still being used for people with COVID-19. But despite that, they had made a plan to help us. They were going to Labasa to do operations there. Zaydan would be able to come over and his cataracts could be removed.”
Six months after he was diagnosed with cataracts, Zaydan and his mother Jyoti met Dr Mundi in Labasa. Dr Mundi was leading an Outreach Team that had travelled to the small hospital there, to help patients whose eye problems required immediate attention.
Zaydan desperately needed two operations. Two operations under general anaesthetic in three days is very difficult for anyone. But terrifying for a small boy who can barely see what is happening. However, that is what we had to do. Waiting to perform the second operation might have made it impossible, as the waitlists are long, and the journey was very far for Zaydan.
Zaydan rested for a day, then we operated on the second eye, this time with Dr Varanisese performing the operation.
In the months that followed, Zaydan’s sight got better and better. Jyoti told us of that time:
“The experience with the doctors gave us so much joy. When we came home, he could see faces, recognise his friends. For the first time in his life, he saw a rainbow. He was amazed. He could name all the colours. I could not believe it.
One day he even said to me, ‘Mum, you look so beautiful’. I will never forget that.
The operation has changed his life. It has also changed mine. Before he wouldn’t leave my side, he would cling to me because he couldn’t see properly. Now he is always off playing. He tells me, mum I don’t need you. I’m a big boy now.”
Zaydan is fortunate in many ways. Without access to surgey, there is a real chance he would have remained blind. Unnecessarily so.
When our team caught up with Zaydan five years after his surgery, the frightened six-year-old who had clung closely to his mum had grown into a confident and caring young person.
He was in Year 5 and top of his class. He loved English, swimming and playing rugby, football and golf. He had made plenty of friends and was already thinking about what he might do when he grew up.
“I want to be a pilot!” he told us.
Seeing Zaydan again was also an emotional moment for Dr Mundi.
“It’s moments like these that remind me why we do what we do. Knowing that the intervention made such a meaningful difference in Zaydan’s life — not just in restoring vision, but in opening up a future full of opportunity — is incredibly fulfilling. ”
Zaydan’s story shows how the impact of children’s eye care continues long after surgery. Timely treatment gave him the opportunity to learn, play, build friendships and make plans for his future.
His message to the people who helped make that possible is simple:
“Fred Hollows has changed my life. Thank you.”
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