The gift of sight!

The incredible gift of sight, and everything that it allows you to do in everyday life, is something we all take for granted.

My brother in law, my husband Pilo's brother - Yohanny (aka Camaron). He is only 45-years old, father of three beautiful girls and who works running his own business selling clothes in Cuba, where he lives with his family.

Until recently, having fully functioning sight was something he never gave a second thought about. But, he is also an insulin dependent diabetic and since July found himself unable to work, take care of my family or even to get around independently due to loss of his vision, caused by a complication of diabetes.

The condition he has is called severe proliferative diabetic retinopathy which causes vitreous hemorrhage and leads to loss of vision bilaterally (in both eyes).

It is a complication of diabetes, when high blood sugar levels and high blood pressure damage the blood vessels at the back of the eye (retina). It can cause blindness if left undiagnosed and untreated.

Because of difficult living conditions in Cuba at the moment, like a lack of available food and medication, it was really hard to keep his blood sugars and blood pressure under control leading to him developing blurred vision last July in one eye, and then two.

When he saw doctors in Cuba, they gave the diagnosis and talked about surgical intervention. But his uncontrolled blood sugars meant that they said they couldn’t operate because it would be dangerous. The lack of medicines available to treat his blood pressure it meant they can’t safely operate to treat the problem with my eyes which is made worse by the high blood pressure.

The most frustrating part is that it could have been all been preventable and treatable if Cuba wasn’t in such a bad situation and had the right medicines available.

We flew Yohanny to to Spain to be assessed by a specialist. The good news is that they said they could save his sight in at lease one eye (maybe both) with a vitrectomy and laser treatment.

He has since been operated on and has regained most of his sight and is now able to walk unaided.

We now need help to crowd fund to help raise the estimated cost of £21,000 Euros (35,000 AUD) to pay for the surgery, follow-up post op appointments and medication and additional tests that may be required. No treatment would have meant losing all of his sight and the worst life-changing, impact, not only for Yohanny but also, for his children and family if I can no longer work.

Please, if you can donate even the smallest amount, or share Yohanny's appeal so that we can raise the money to pay for the medical costs which have helped to regain his sign so that I can go home and work and take care of his family we would be eternally grateful.

We will put regular updates on this page to show my progress through his recovery.