Update on Rosa's Mum

Thank you to everyone who contacted me about Leonor asking if there was something we could do to help. It was lovely to know that people so far away were concerned about her.

I was hoping this week to be able to bring you some good news about helping her regain her sight but despite our best efforts I'm afraid we've been beaten on this one.

Leonor is a brave lady. She agreed to travel by air for the first time in her life in order to come to Quito and she arrived here on Sunday evening with another of her daughters, Zoila. We had arranged for her to go and see an eye specialist at a Foundation in Quito which was originally set up in conjunction with a rotary club in Finland (Fundacion de Finlandia).

We had high hopes that a simple cataract operation would significantly improve her sight and had raised the money to pay for it....so I was hoping to write to you all with a real happy ending story.

Although some additional treatment was needed, the specialist agreed that a cataract operation would have made a big difference. He could have done the operation today. Unfortunately Leonor and her husband had heard rumours about the operation and believed that far from making her see again, a cataract operation would in fact mean that she would lose her sight altogether. They were both convinced that the risks of surgery were significant and Leonor's view was that it was better to have a tiny bit of sight than none at all.

Sadly the opthalmologist confirmed that her condition is progressive and that it will not be long before she loses all sight in any event. He tried to convince her of the benefits of surgery, but unfortunately did not have the bedside manner that I would have wished for. There seemed to be no recognition that he was dealing with an elderly lady who was frightened and intimidated by her surroundings. Apparently this is not uncommon here in Ecuador.

In any event, despite the efforts of the doctor and the wishes of her daughters, after waivering several times Leonor eventually took the decision not to go ahead with surgery. She genuinely believed that it would mean she would go completely blind, and I had the strong impression she was heavily influenced by the views of her husband, who in her eyes remains very much the head of the household.

We suggested going to another organisation for a second opinion, but today Leonor made the decision to travel back home to Cuenca. It is a sad story, because I know that in her already very limited world she is frightened of going totally blind, and I also know that this outcome is inevitable in the absence of surgery.

I believe that a cataract operation would have made a big difference to her life, but at the end of the day the choice had to remain hers. I am sad that ultimately we could not help this lady, but I don't regret the fact that we tried. At least we gave her the option of surgery even if her decision was not to go ahead with it.

The story does demonstrate two things though...the fact that false rumours still persist here and play a huge part in the decisions people make, and also that in many households it is still the case that the man has the final word.

I'm sorry I can't give you better news on this story...but there is one lighter note on which I can end. I found out that Zoila (who also has very poor vision, but not from cataracts) used to have glasses which were damaged beyond repair eighteen months ago. She has been unable to replace them since. The good news is that we were able to arrange for an eye test and new glasses for her. She was so grateful that she had tears in her eyes, and said that having new glasses will transform her life. She has not been able to read small print for all this time, which has been a huge challenge to her work in the family shop.

So there we are. It was a small outcome in terms of what we had hoped to achieve, but we tried our best, and whatever happens it was a privilege to meet Leonor who is a very special lady.