Ken

When Ken was born in hospital in the south of Tanzania, nobody noticed that something was wrong. Even his own mother, 26 year old Rose, who developed measles when she was seven months pregnant, did not spot the fact that her newborn baby had a problem with his eyes. Why would she see such a thing, when all he did was sleep, and yawn, and cry for food? They were sent home like any other mother and baby, to be welcomed by Rose’s husband and her two other children, aged ten and six.

It was only a month later, when Rose saw something white in her baby boy’s eyes, that she asked her mother to take a look. The first doctor who looked at Ken said that they should wait six months before doing anything: that maybe the condition would improve. No one mentioned cataract. It was the second doctor that they saw, after those months of waiting, who quickly referred them to CCBRT.  

Rose and her husband were afraid that their child may never see normally, and experienced the pain of having a child who is ‘different’. Members of the local community had stared at Ken, but no one had ever suggested that they seek help for the baby who seemed to be always ‘searching for the light’. Once Rose’s husband had gathered the money needed for the journey to Dar es Salaam, mother and baby, now seven months old, left the family to stay with a brother in the city.

A day after the first operation at CCBRT for his congenital cataract, which affected both eyes, Ken is already showing signs of improvement.  His right eye has been treated first.   He is a healthy and strong looking baby, and appears to be alert and interested in the world.  Rose was amazed, if a little doubtful, when the nurses in the eye department said that he would be able to see like any other normal child. But now, sitting on the bed nursing her boy, she is starting to believe it. This morning, she explains, he opened his eyes properly and seemed to almost focus.  She is excited about what will happen once the left eye has been operated on.

Free treatment for Ken’s congenital cataract has meant that the family does not need to worry too much about costs. Without it, Rose and her husband may not have been able to afford it or would have made big sacrifices at home in order to pay. Rose smiles when asked what she wishes for her baby’s future.

‘I’d like him to be a pastor….. or a lawyer,’ she enthuses. Now, because of the treatment that Ken has received at CCBRT, Rose has every reason to think of a bright, successful future for her son.