Mother of three fighting to save her sight

TIFFANY PRYCE

Shanice Laird's life went black, figuratively and somewhat literally, overnight on February 22.

"I went to my bed the Sunday night and did my regular routine, ate my dinner, prayed, went to my bed. I was okay when I went to sleep. The Monday I woke up not seeing anything out of my right eye. Everything was literally black," said Laird, who is a make-up artist and hairdresser.

Laird said the sudden loss of vision left her confused, especially since she had never experienced eye problems.

"For the 27 years I'm here, I've never worn glasses before or have eye issues. Never went to the doctor to test my eyes, nothing like that, so I found it very strange," said the Golden Spring, St Andrew, resident.

Taking her mother's advice, Laird sought medical help the same day, visiting an ophthalmologist who prescribed a gel and two eye drops.

"I kept using them until Friday and, I was not seeing any changes. I called them and let them know and I was instructed to come in immediately," she explained. During a follow-up visit the following day, she underwent another eye examination and was told to do an OCT scan. Though expensive, Laird persisted with the exam that day.

"The result came out same time and she said to me 'I am going to refer you to a facility that can take up your situation, which is a retina specialist'. At that point, I realised it was really serious," Laird said. She visited the retina specialist the following Monday. The diagnosis came as a shock.

"The specialist said 'Your retina has been detached'; just like that," Laird recounted. "She told me that I will need surgery but I needed to do a laser treatment immediately to save my left eye because there was vision in the left eye still." A retinal detachment occurs when the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye separates from its underlying blood supply. If not treated immediately, the condition can lead to permanent blindness.

"I started to cry. A lot of things [were] going through my mind, like I was just saying, 'Why me? Why me?' But I said God knows best, and I leave it in the hands of God, because He will take me through all of this," she said.

Since receiving the diagnosis, Laird has been unable to work.

"Working is how I provide for myself and my three kids -- ages seven, four and one. The surgery is the biggest expense I am worried about right now," she said. She cannot see out of her right eye, and vision in the left is blurry. Simple tasks such as cooking for herself are a major challenge. Despite the challenges, she said she has been receiving support.

"The kids' father has been very supportive, he has them, so he's taking good care of them. I am getting a lot of support from my community, church, family, friends and also Sunshine Doll Foundation who is trying to help me to go abroad to do the surgery," Laird told THE STAR. However, the cost of treatment remains a major hurdle.

"The doctor told me that it would be $1.8 million to do a sclera buckle surgery and I have to do full payment if I am doing it privately. I got a referral to go to UHWI and when I went, their machine was down. I didn't know where I was going to get the money from but I went back to the facility and then they said their machine is down as well," she explained. Laird is seeking to restore US$10,000 (approximately J$1.6 million) to cover her expenses. The experience has also left her concerned about the wider healthcare system.

"My heart sank because I can't imagine how many persons probably have gone blind because the machines that can help us are not working or we simply can't come up with so much money in such a short time," she said. "It is so heartbreaking because if we don't have the money, we will go blind. I will not accept blindness and I don't want anyone to accept blindness."

Persons wishing to assist Shanice Laird may donate to GoFundMe account https://gofund.me/2ea186400 or Scotiabank, account number 000300766 in the name of her cousin Kadian Davidson.