This Christmas your gift will help children living with blindness or low vision, like Zavier, gain the support they need to shine bright throughout their lives.
Zavier was referred to a paediatrician when he was six months old, after his mother, Stacey, had noticed something wasn’t right. They went to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, and Zavier was diagnosed with a condition called Leber’s congenital amaurosis, a rare genetic eye condition that affects the development of cells in the retina, the portion of the eye that detects light and colour. He is both colour blind and legally blind.
When she first was told Zavier had something wrong with his eyesight, Stacey was worried.
‘As a first-time mum, I didn’t know what to expect. It took a very, very long time for them to diagnose Zavier. All I knew was that he would never look at me.’
Zavier didn’t just fail to make eye contact with his mum, he would also stare deep into bright lights, like the sun. Stacey remembers: ‘I was so worried.’
Being just a baby, and unable to communicate what he could see, made it a very long process before she actually got a diagnosis.'Because he was so young, it was hard to run proper tests. I was left in the dark for such a long time and it was pretty scary not knowing what was going to happen or how bad it was going to be.’
While waiting to learn just how compromised Zavier’s vision was, Stacey’s worries grew.
‘It seemed like it was getting worse. Over time it seemed like his eyes were moving faster and faster, so we did think that maybe his sight would deteriorate and I knew that was a big fear that would just keep getting stronger.’
Despite the incredible challenges he faces daily, to Zavier his condition is merely words and he won’t let them get in the way of him doing the things that every other seven-year-old boy does.
Your support of Vision Australia has meant our specialised team can work closely with Zavier to help him overcome many of the challenges his low vision creates.
Every child should have the chance to shine. They should be able to read and play and make friends, but when you’re legally blind, every day is that much harder. Thank you for helping to make it easier for these special kids.
Vision Australia’s tailored support looks at all aspects of Zavier’s wellbeing. It’s not just the tools he can use to read or where he sits in class that matters, it’s also important that Zavier can feel safe at school.
