A Miracle in Process

Ivon Cuervo - Posted on February 5, 2010

Since she had the surgery, Daren’s vision has changed, not only physically because she can now see better visual capacity, but also because she now sees herself as even more beautiful.

Daren, 6, was born with a lazy left eye. Since she learned to look at herself on the mirror, she asked her mother why her eye was like that and her mother tried to comfort her by saying that soon she was going to see changes.

Ana, 33, Daren’s mother, knew that her squinty eye could be operated on because her son, Bryan, 11, was born with the same problem in both eyes. At that time, however, the child had medical insurance that was able to help cover some of the charges. But, the situation with Daren was different as she does not have a medical insurance and her parents are barely able to earn enough to pay for the daily expenses at home.

Ana always thought about the need of her daughter’s operation, not only did she want her to be able to see clearer and improve her coordination, but she also wanted her to feel better about herself. “The children at school told me “bizca” (slang for cross-eyed) because I had a lazy eye,” says Daren.

When Ana decided she would not postpone the surgery of her daughter anymore, the circumstances did not seem favorable. “Before the child had the surgery, my husband lost his job. But, we had already taken the first step for the surgery and I was not disappointed,” says Ana.

Because Daren did not have any subsidy from the State for the surgery, her family would have to be responsible for all the expenses: hospitalization, all the instruments for the surgery, the medicines and even for the fees of the surgeon.

Then the miracles started to happened. World Vision helped Daren, sponsored by the San Mateo program, with part for the hospitalization expenses. Daren’s teacher at school offered to buy all the surgical instruments required by the clinic. The surgeon decided to help the family and did not charge the family for any fee.

The people from the community also showed their love toward the family organizing activities to gather funds for Daren’s family. “My partners of the volunteer committee of World Vision helped me. We organized raffles and a bazaar in the school,” remembers Ana.

The day of the surgery arrived and although Daren was happy, she was also very nervous in the beginning. “The day of the surgery, Daren cried a lot,” says Ana. “In order to help her feel better, I also wore a surgical robe and a cap, just like hers” says Ana.

Finally, the surgery was over and Daren is recovering. Already at home, she is in recovery time under the supervision of her mother. The girl cannot attend, at least for a month, the activities for kids her age: she should not make efforts or rough movements, neither can she read or write and she should avoid exposing her eye to sunlight.

For Daren, the physical change has been very nice. “I feel good when I had the surgery because now I look pretty.” She misses school because she likes to study very much.

Meanwhile, Ana is helping her daughter to do her homework, so the child won’t be delayed regarding her school tasks.

To value the needs of health that the children in the impoverished communities have, to provide counseling to parents to have effective access to health services provided by the State and to collaborate with part of the expenses for medical examinations and medicines are some of the functions of World Vision in the area of health.

Daren is very happy to see how the sponsorship has contributed to improve her life quality. “World Vision is a network of hope, love and solidarity for all the children,” says the mother of the girl.

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