$70,000 to save Raenatha’s sight

Holassie of Graham Trace, Ojoe Road, Sangre Grande told Newsday yesterday that she was born with the eye problem and will go blind if she does not have the surgery. At present she is unemployed and cannot face the glare of light.

A quotation from Medical Associates, St Joseph, where she is expected to have the corneal transplant surgery done under general anaesthesia, showed the cost for surgery on one eye in the sum of $35,000.

The breakdown reads, tissues acquisition, $12,000; hospitalisation, $8,500; anaesthetist fee, $2,500; lab fees, $400; surgeon’s fee, $6,900; operating microscope, $1,900; and microsurgical instrument use disposable (corneal trephines and viscoelastic solution), $2,800.

The quotation given on August 22 is only valid for 30 days.

Holassie, the mother of one, has an account at RBC Sangre Grande Branch, account number 110000003316837 to which anyone may donate funds. Anyone wishing to help in fund-raising activities may contact her on cell phone 372-8332.

Keratoconus is described as a degenerative disorder of the eye in which structural changes within the cornea cause it to thin and change to a more conical shape than the more normal gradual curve. Keratoconus can cause substantial distortion of vision, with multiple images, streaking and sensitivity to light are often reported by the person.