GOOD NEWS

Tajoery returns smiling

Boy blinded by belt buckle back home after successful surgery overseas

BY COREY ROBINSON Sunday Observer staff reporter robinsonc@jamaicaobserver

Sunday, May 08, 2011

The two have been in Miami since April 3, when they left the island for the delicate surgery at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute.
His left eye partially closed to keep out the glare of the sun — Tajoery said he was elated to return home to his friends.
“I am happy to be home. The first thing I am going to do is fly my (toy) plane,” said the soft-spoken youngster.
According to him, he is not feeling any pain in the eye, and his vision is getting better. However, his surgeons have reportedly cautioned that he will never regain full sight in that eye.
He will also have to have the artificial lens replaced when he outgrows it in the next three years.
The excitement which accompanied their return was, nonetheless, vividly etched on Clarke’s face. The young mother, who has been fighting to save her son’s sight since the incident in December 2009, said life finally feels like it is returning to normal.
“I feel good, feeling really great that he can see from the eye again. It (surgery) could have been done before, but you know that you have to fight,” she said. “It wasn’t an easy road, but thank God that I won the battle,” she continued.
Clarke said it was her strong faith in God that carried her through the “frightening” surgery.
“When I saw like an hour, two hours pass and he was not out (of surgery), I started to wonder if something was wrong. But then I decided not to worry and that I was just going to leave everything in God’s hands,” she said.
“He spent three hours in surgery and then another 48 minutes in recovery. After that, when I saw that he was alright, I was filled with joy,” she with a grateful smile.
There is also good news for the youngster who has missed several days of school, Clarke said, “Representatives from the Ministry (of Education) said they will get him extra tutorials to see where he missed out and how he can catch up.”
Clarke said she was grateful for everyone who played a part in getting the assistance she needed for her son.
Tajoery was allegedly struck in the left eye by the buckle of the belt the teacher was using to discipline another student who had been misbehaving.
The resultant damage required extensive surgery at the Bustamante Hospital for Children in St Andrew, but that bid to save his eyesight failed and Tajoery was left partially blind, and in constant pain.
Clarke said she spent more than $300,000 for medication as well as transportation for his visits to clinical and counselling sessions over the past two years.
Her plight was highlighted by the Sunday Observer in January, sparking both local and international condemnation of the incident, as well as support for the boy.
Doctors in Miami repaired Tajoery’s cornea and lens, Clarke said, surgery two local doctors declined to perform because of the high level of risk involved.
He will have to return to Miami in three months for further check-ups, and to be fitted with special eyeglasses.
Money for the surgery which was estimated at some US$20,000 (J$1.7 million), was approved and granted by the Government.
The Director of Public Prosecutions has since ruled that the teacher, Patricia Perry, be charged. The case is ongoing.