By Latrishka Thomas
After months of fundraising, 10-month-old Shonae Williams will finally receive surgery to save her eyesight.
Her mother, Ja’nae Williams of Swetes village, told Observer that she was able to raise $10,000 for the procedure to remove a cataract from the baby’s left eye at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados.
“My family and I are feeling good knowing that Shonae will be getting her eyes fixed to regain her eyesight, but we are still saddened that she would have to go through all this procedure before though. But we continue to stay strong and leave her in the hands of the Lord and he will take good care of her,” Ja’nae said.
She shared her gratitude to God, family members, friends and everyone who donated saying, “I greatly appreciate it.”
She made special mention of various local businesses and residents who assisted her.
In addition, she said, “A heartfelt thank you goes out to chef Dajah and Andre Bennett for controlling the grills for the fundraisers held, thanks to all the donators of foods and drinks etc; they were greatly appreciated. Thanks to Denise Jarvis, Marjorie Joseph and the whole team I greatly appreciate the helping hands you guys put in to make the events possible – much love to you.”
On May 18, the first-time mother received the troubling news that her daughter had a cataract in one eye.
She said she feared her daughter could eventually go blind in one or both eyes, prompting her to set out to raise thousands for her daughter’s surgery.
A cataract is a clouding of the normally clear lens of the eye. For babies it is usually referred to as congenital cataract which means that the lens did not form properly during pregnancy.
A congenital cataract causes the same symptoms as adult cataracts—a clouding in the lens of the eye that can cause blurry vision or blindness.