Esther and her mother, Rosemarie, traveled from their campo home to the big city of Santa Cruz. Everything appeared new and overwhelming. Crossing the street was a terrifying experience and the modern, upscale health center didn’t seem suited to them. I prayed that they would be treated with respect, even though they were country folk.
Dr. Nazra tried his hardest to put Esther at ease and to encourage her to answer his questions about her vision. It was a difficult situation in which he had to make an examination on someone who was afraid to answer his questions. Finally, he left the questions and examined Esther’s eyes, then asked us to wait for an hour. He patiently started all over again. The results were devastating. Rosemarie suffered from toxoplasmosis while she was pregnant with Esther. The parasites entered Esther’s eyes in utero and damaged both of them. She is completely blind in one eye and she sees a large circle in the middle of the other. Constantly her head is cocked so that she sees around the circle. There is no chance that she will ever be able to see normally. Dr. Nazra tried some glasses but did not seem satisfied with the result so he asked us to return the next day.
Another start from the beginning. Although Esther was somewhat more relaxed and responsive it was still difficult to get answers. He placed some glasses on her face and asked her to read. And she read – and read – and read. She didn’t stop. When she read previously, she halted and stammered but now she was reading smoothly and eloquently. I don’t know who was closer to tears – Dr. Nazra or I. But we had another problem. Esther was not able to tell him which pair of glasses was better so we left the office with both pairs and spent the next half hour reading. She finally told me that they were both the same! We left the office with a few hundred dollars less in my pocket but with a girl that was proudly reading. The glasses are ugly; they are thick and too big for her. They are the only thing that we can buy here so we feel very privileged to have them.
Dr. Nazra was kind enough to send us to another association that assisted with the purchase of the second pair of glasses required for distance vision. When Esther put them on and walked into the street, all she could say was “Lejos, lejos. Veo lejos!’ -- ‘Far, far. I see far!’ For the first time in her nine years she is able to see the world around her.
Dr. Nazra tried his hardest to put Esther at ease and to encourage her to answer his questions about her vision. It was a difficult situation in which he had to make an examination on someone who was afraid to answer his questions. Finally, he left the questions and examined Esther’s eyes, then asked us to wait for an hour. He patiently started all over again. The results were devastating. Rosemarie suffered from toxoplasmosis while she was pregnant with Esther. The parasites entered Esther’s eyes in utero and damaged both of them. She is completely blind in one eye and she sees a large circle in the middle of the other. Constantly her head is cocked so that she sees around the circle. There is no chance that she will ever be able to see normally. Dr. Nazra tried some glasses but did not seem satisfied with the result so he asked us to return the next day.
Another start from the beginning. Although Esther was somewhat more relaxed and responsive it was still difficult to get answers. He placed some glasses on her face and asked her to read. And she read – and read – and read. She didn’t stop. When she read previously, she halted and stammered but now she was reading smoothly and eloquently. I don’t know who was closer to tears – Dr. Nazra or I. But we had another problem. Esther was not able to tell him which pair of glasses was better so we left the office with both pairs and spent the next half hour reading. She finally told me that they were both the same! We left the office with a few hundred dollars less in my pocket but with a girl that was proudly reading. The glasses are ugly; they are thick and too big for her. They are the only thing that we can buy here so we feel very privileged to have them.
Dr. Nazra was kind enough to send us to another association that assisted with the purchase of the second pair of glasses required for distance vision. When Esther put them on and walked into the street, all she could say was “Lejos, lejos. Veo lejos!’ -- ‘Far, far. I see far!’ For the first time in her nine years she is able to see the world around her.
