Faisal needs gift of sight

Faisal is going blind and requires a cornea transplant but his family cannot afford the procedure. Sarah Dea / The National

Each week The National reports the work of the Dar Al Ber Society in trying to help those in great need. Today, we meet a 10-year-old bravely facing a degenerative eye condition.

ABU DHABI // When his eyesight began to fail, 10-year-old Faisal said nothing.

“I didn’t tell anyone because I didn’t want to burden anyone. My father works so hard and comes back very tired at the end of the day. I didn’t want them to worry.”

But four months ago, his condition revealed itself when his father, Hussain Hansh, saw his eldest son holding his school books as close to his face as he could in order to read the text.

“I rushed him to the hospital and that is where I was told that he needs a cornea transplant as soon as possible,” says Hussain, who brought his family from Sudan in 2010.

The cornea in Faisal’s left eye was damaged and he could barely see out of the other.

Although there is a light at the end of the tunnel the cost of treatment – Dh38,000 – means that light is slowly fading.

Without the transplant required to treat his condition, advanced keratoconus, a thinning disorder of the cornea, the Grade 5 pupil will soon go blind.

“We could have never imagined that our eldest boy would go blind. Faisal is my backbone, my support, and whom I am counting on to take care of his siblings after I die,” says the 48-year-old father of five.

In addition Faisal, who is a student at a school in Sharjah, has been told not to return unless treatment is given.

Should the cost of treatment be raised, the chances of success are 90 per cent, says specialist ophthalmologist Dr Vladimir Tchouprine at the Saudi German Hospital in Dubai.

“Faisal has advanced keratoconus. It is already in the latter stages in his left eye and very advanced in the right eye.”

But though the operation has a high success rate, time is of the essence, says Dr Tchouprine, adding that the cornea may rupture thus greatly reducing the effects of any surgery.

On his Dh5,500 monthly salary, as a garage worker, Hussain says the family are now looking to the community for support.

“God knows that I have no way of paying this. I also have no one to borrow from,” he says.

For Faisal, the stress his condition is causing his parents is more worrying than the thought of losing his sight.

“If I go blind, I’ll deal with it. I don’t want my parents to worry,” he says.

Being in a situation where you are unable to provide for your children is more than anyone should have to deal with, says Hisham Al Zahrani, manager of Zakat and Social Services at Dar Al Ber Society.

“It is very difficult for parents when their child gets sick. What is more difficult is when there is treatment but they can’t afford it.

“Faisal needs your support. His family cannot do it on their own.”​