| Four-year-old Ami suffered the same eye problem as her older brother, Sidate. Her mother, Awa, despaired after an endless and fruitless search for help for her children. But then she heard about a Mercy Ship coming to Senegal. A Mercy Ships surgeon performed successful onboard operations on both Ami as well as her brother. Afterwards Awa said haltingly, “I was labelled a bad mother because my children were afflicted. I have no words to express to you the weight that has lifted from my shoulders.” |
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| Ana Ramona Tejada was in an automobile accident, and quickly developed cataracts. Her eyes became so bad, she could only see hand motion at six inches, and was totally blind in her right eye. She is a mother of three, and was desperate to have her sight restored. Even every day chores were a difficulty. A corrective surgery cost far too much, and her family would never be able to afford it. Like most people in the Dominican Republic, Anas husband makes very little. Then Anas cousin Mary told her about a Mercy Ship that could help her, free of charge. Ana was excited to think she might regain her sight. The nurses guided her up the gangway and then down the stairs to the operating room, where the ophthalmologist waited. The operation did not take long, and Anas eye surgery went very well. The next day, Ana had her eye patch removed and was examined by the doctor. Everything was well, and the difference in her ability to see was amazing. Anas cataract had been removed, and her sight was restored. She went from being virtually blind to regaining her vision once more, a miracle of miracles for her and her family. Her smile is one you will never forget. |
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| Humphrey Adama of Ghana often begged his mother to take him to a hospital where he could get his eyes fixed. He had hoped the results would stop the ridicule from his school mates. However, his mother once had a harrowing experience in a hospital and her friends warned her that Humphrey’s eyes might be destroyed forever. Then one day, she heard about a Mercy Ship that came to her country. After talking with crew members, she was persuaded to bring her son for a free onboard corrective eye surgery. After seeing the remarkable change in her son, Humphrey’s mother exclaimed, “God is here!” |
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| Louise went blind in her left eye over time after a scratch became infected. The 18-year-old Sengalese girl became quite self conscious and would try to cover her face and not look directly at people. Mercy Ships prosthetic technician Carolyne Castle made a prosthetic eye to replace Louise’s ugly, deformed eye. Now she no longer tries to cover her face and now faces the world with a captivating smile. |
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| Mario Reynoso’s bilateral cataracts were caused by a severe blow to his head when he fell from the back of a truck. His vision was completely gone six months later. He was only 32 years old. Being from Guatemala and unable to provide for his family with four young children, hope rose in his heart when Mario heard wonderful stories of blind people who had regained their sight with a Mercy Ships operation. Now fully able to see, the words to a favourite hymn took on added meaning as he joined the crew in singing, “I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.” |
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| Young Priscilla had two problems. If it wasn’t difficult enough that she had to struggle to see correctly, what compounded things for her was she was continually ridiculed and mocked because of the way she looked. All that changed when a Mercy Ship sailed into her home county of Ghana. A Mercy Ships surgeon performed a life-changing operation on her crossed eyes and now she looks life straight on. Priscilla no longer faces a future of being ridiculed or having to struggle to see properly. |
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| Salitrane was fitted with an artificial eye which was custom made for him, after surgery to remove a lymphangioma. |
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| Sebastiana was sad when she realized she was going blind from cataracts. Lucio, her husband, couldn’t afford the funds to pay for an operation to restore her sight. But then they heard about a nearby Mercy Ship in Puerto Cortes, Honduras. Lucio and Sebastiana made sugarcane candy and sold it to come up with the roundtrip bus fare. After a successful operation at the hands of Mercy Ships doctors, Sebastiana exclaimed joyously, “I can see! I see colours and everything is clear!” Lucio knew he couldn’t buy his wife this gift of sight. But when he saw the look on Sebastiana’s face after her patch was removed, it became his gift too. The happy couple left to tell all in their village what God had done for them at the hands of Mercy Ships doctors. |
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| Eight-year-old Sidate of Senegal has had both of his eyes staring alternately in opposite directions. His mother, Awa, had taken him to doctor after doctor until her money ran out. They resigned themselves to never getting an operation. But then Awa heard about a Mercy Ship coming to her country. A Mercy Ships surgeon performed a bi-medial recession on Siade. A few weeks later, Awa returned to the Mercy Ship for Sidate’s check-up. The mother was smiling and said, “Everything has changed. Sidate isn’t bullied or teased at school anymore. Several times a day he stands by a mirror, looks at himself, and bursts out laughing. I cannot thank you enough.” |
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| Born with corneal leucoma, Veronique grew up with the humiliation of an “ugly” eye.” When a Mercy Ship came to her home country of Benin, a Mercy Ships doctor performed an evisceration of Veronique’s left eye and fitted her with a prosthetic eye. Today Veronique faces the world with confidence. |
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| Vololona’s left eye became infected when she was six and eventually left her blind in that eye. By the time she was 20, it was impossible to restore her sight. When a Mercy Ship arrived in Madagascar, a Mercy Ships surgeon removed her diseased eye and replaced it with a prosthesis. Vololona appreciated the more “normal” appearance and felt new assurance of the love of God through the medical staff’s professionalism and personal care. |
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