Patient stories: treating Ismail, India, for retinopathy of prematurity

When Ismail was born at only 29 weeks, despite neo-natal complications, his parents initially weren’t aware that anything was wrong with his sight. It was only after a visit to his grandfather’s house, that it was discovered that baby Ismail wasn’t responding to visual cues.

Ismail's heartbroken parents had lost hope and the outcome looked bleak until he began treatment at the HV Desai Children’s Eye Centre where, thanks to your support, the vision was restored in one of his eyes.

His mother Nasreen told us about Ismail’s challenging start in life.

Desperate, his family sought treatment at the Orbis supported H V Desai Eye Hospital, which is part of the India Childhood Blindness Initiative and had just started to specialise in ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity) - an eye disease that Ismail had been diagnosed with. The hospital’s child-friendly Children’s Eye Centre (CEC) can now provide comprehensive paediatric eye care services to children in the region.

Fortunately for Ismail, who was in the late stages of ROP, someone had just donated a retinal camera and he was one of the very first few children to get treated there.

His delighted mother spoke to us about the progress he has made since having treatment.

Thanks to your support, Ismail enjoys riding his bike very fast, playing hide-and-seek and dreams of being a car mechanic one day now that he can see.