Patient
Stories
Anna
and Sona Shahverdyan
lost their mother
to breast cancer
four years ago.
Since then, life haschanged
drastically for
the two sisters.
Deprived of maternal
love, care and
affection, the
sisters shared
another common difficulty-Strabismus,
often referred
to as crossed-eyes.
A common and treatable
eye condition in
children, the disease
seriously affected
the sister’s lives
leaving them reserved,
shy and detached
from their peers.
In September
2007, when the
AECP screening
teams visited Aygehat
village school
in the Lori region
of Armenia, Anna,
13, and Sona, 10,
were examined by
an EyeCare Project
ophthalmologist
and diagnosed with
Strabismus. The
girls were referred
to the Malayan
Ophthalmologic
Center in Yerevan
for detailed examinations,
treatment and surgery.
The
AECP
covered
all
of
the
costs
related
to
the
sister’s
surgeries
and
treatment.
According
to
their
grandmother,
their
family
could
never
have
afforded
the
treatment
and
surgery.
Their
father
is
unemployed.
The
family
survives
on
subsistence
farming—cultivating
their
small
piece
of
land
attached
to
the
house
and
collecting
fruit
and
berries
from
the
forest.
“I
would
blame
myself
if
I did
not
take
advantage
of
this
opportunity.
I would
never
let these young girls,
deprived of maternal
care, miss the
chance to improve
their vision,”
Grandmother Sona
said. A family
relative kindly
agreed to host
the sisters and
their grandmother
at her small apartment
in Yerevan where
she lives with
her five children:
“We are all human
beings and must
support each other,”
she says with a
smile.
Dr.
Lilia Avetisyan,
the AECP ophthalmologist
who originally
diagnosed the girls,
performed both
surgeries and was
very pleased with
the results. According
to Dr. Avetisyan,
it was important
to have the surgeries
done immediately.
Further delays
would have created
additional complications
and could leave
the girls with
a lifelong vision
disability. According
to Dr. Avetisyan,
both sisters had
a complicated case
of far-sightedness
and Esotropia that
resulted in low
vision.
With
restored vision
the girls are now
more self-confident
and secure about
their appearance.
Before the surgery
Anna, the youngest
sister, was wondering
if “she would become
beautiful after
the surgery?” Now
she is already
making her future
career plans and
is determined to
become a teacher
after she graduates
from the University
and opens her own
school. Together
with her sister
Sona, Anna is currently
undergoing an extensive
post-surgical treatment
that includes various
eye exercises,
wearing eye glasses
and regular check-ups.
The EyeCare Project
will continue monitoring
the children’s
case to ensure
a complete and
successful recovery.
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