The pain of birthing babies with blindness is a burden on parents, particularly mothers. Wanting to know the mistakes made and seeking treatment options are the journeys they embark on. JANET OGUNDEPO writes on the stigma, challenges and hopes these mothers face in seeking care for their childrenAfter 14 years of being childless, a Benue-born Fashion designer, identified only as Mary, finally held her bundle of joy.
The years before her daughter’s birth were filled with questions left unanswered, the secret tears that dribbled unbidden down her face as she lay on the bed with her husband at night.Thankful for a supportive husband, Mary weathered the storms of her childlessness and welcomed the joy of her new baby with gusto.However, three months after her daughter, whom she named God’s Time, was born, the 32-year-old noticed an unusual colour in her eyes.
“I noticed that her eyeballs were getting bigger but I reassured myself that one of her aunties also has big eyeballs,” Mary told PUNCH Healthwise.She would later be told by an ophthalmologist that her child’s condition was congenital glaucoma.“Aside from that, I notice that she avoids looking at the light in the room and bends her head inside the wrapper whenever I put her on my back and we go out.
Also, I noticed that the black part of her eyes was looking gray, so I told my husband and pastor about my observation and we were advised to go to Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta,” she added.From there, she was refe.
