12-Year-Old Orphan Suffers From Night Blindness
Zmrukht Shant Solomon Allah Verdi Movsisyan resides in the Zatik orphanage with her sister.  Her night blindness, which she has suffered from since infancy, was uncovered during an AECP eye screening at the orphanage.

Twelve-year-old Zmrukht and her 11-year-old sister Mariam dream of being hairdressers and opening their own beauty salon one day.  However, the road ahead of them is an uncertain one.  They have been living in the Zatik orphanage since 2003, when they came to Armenia from Iraq with their father.  Their parents are divorced, and their mother, who is Kurdish, stayed in Iraq.  Their father, an Armenian who has since remarried, occasionally visits the girls at the orphanage.

Zmrukht, whose name translates to Emerald, suffers from night blindness.  She has lived with this hereditary condition since childhood but cannot pinpoint exactly when it began.  She explains that her mother required her to wear a veil whenever she left their home in Iraq, and for a long time she was not sure if her impaired night vision was because of the veil or her eyes.  “I was afraid to leave the house in the evenings,” she remembers, “because I could stumble and fall.  We had a lot of places in our area where the asphalt was damaged and many people with good eyesight fell and were injured, so imagine me with my eyesight in such a street!”  As a result, she began to stay home in the evenings instead of going out with friends.

The young girl also remembers struggling with her vision during the daytime, especially at school.  When her class was studying Armenian language using an old book with very fine print, Zmrukht had to get permission from her teacher to sit by the window.  Only with the extra light could she discern the words on the page.

It was not until the AECP screening team visited Zatig orphanage in 2004 that Zmrukht’s condition was diagnosed.  Dr. Nune Yerkanyan was part of the screening team that first met Zmrukht at Zatig orphanage, and then she saw the girl again when she was brought to the Malayan Ophthalmologic Center (MOC) for a more detailed examination.  Dr. Yerkanyan—who describes Zmrukht as “very open, pleasant, smiling, and good humored”—prescribed vitamins and retina-strengthening drugs.  

After this treatment, the young patient’s vision improved to 90 percent.  Dr. Yerkanyan says that she was surprised by such a quick, positive response.  She also stresses the importance of monitoring Zmrukht’s vision as she enters puberty, a risky time for someone with this kind of eye disease.  Especially in the case of an orphan, says the doctor, “it is important that the child feels that there are people who care and who will follow-up.”

Zmrukht is also very pleased with the results.  “After treatment I can see much better,” she says.  “I can study at school with no difficulty.  You know I am among the best pupils.”  The girl once again talks about her dreams of becoming a hairstylist, and she shares stories of practicing on her sister’s hair.  She says that before the treatment the hair would almost “dance” before her eyes, resulting in a disappointing outcome.  Now, she has renewed hope.  She says, “Wait and see what beautiful hair styling I will be doing once I am fully cured!”