A 31-YR-OLD CONPUTER SCIENCE GRADUATE SUDDENLY BECAME BLIND AFTER AN ACCIDENT:

Remembering how I became blind makes me sad —31-year-old computer science graduate

Becoming suddenly blind can be traumatizing for anyone who was born with ‘normal’ sight, hitherto sighted persons tell Angela Onwuzoo

Temitope Lawal had a promising childhood that was devoid of the threat of visual impairment.

The 31-year-old lady, after graduation from the university, joined her mother in her bread distribution business. She planned to establish her own bakery.

The graduate of Computer Science and Statistics, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, soon became a mega bread distributor in Lagos. In 2018, everything changed. The Osun State indigene became suddenly blind, a situation that threw her and her family into pain and agony.

Temitope, who is still trying to adjust to her sudden vision loss, said, “Each time I look back and remember how I became blind in 2018, I feel depressed. Imagine the pain of someone that was seeing before, hardworking and independent, suddenly becoming blind and dependent on others for survival. “It all started in 2018, I was driving one afternoon when I had a slight accident and hit my head on the steering.

“Months later, I started noticing a blurred vision. So, I went to Isolo General Hospital, Lagos. I was diagnosed with retinal detachment, which required a surgery. “I was advised to go to either the Eye Foundation at Ikeja or the University College Hospital, Ibadan, for the surgery, as doctors at Isolo General Hospital said they will not be able to perform the surgery because of lack of facilities.

“But I didn’t go to any of the hospitals immediately because I had no money for my treatment.

“I tried other general hospitals in Lagos to see if I could have the surgery in any of them, but they all said they lacked the capacity to undertake it. “While shopping for an affordable hospital that could perform the surgery, I started having pressure on my eyes. Later, I started feeling pains on the left eye, which was the one I was seeing with because I could no longer see with the right one.”

She finally made it to Eye Foundation, where she was told that she had bacteria on her left eye. That was what was causing the pain, she was told.

“So, I was given an eye drop and other medications. When I got home and started using the eye drop, tears flowed uncontrollably from my eye as if I was crying. “It continued like that for weeks. I didn’t even notice that my left eye was shrinking until a relation drew my attention to it.” She said she didn’t go back to the hospital to complain. By the time she went to the hospital to complain to her eye doctor, it was too late because her both eyes already lost vision.