Since I can remember, my eyes have been a problem that has affected me every day of my 32 years of life. At 3 months old, I had a vacuum cleaner cord whip out from the wall, and come into the other room where I was sitting in my jumpy chair. The metal prongs that plug into the wall actually went through my eyeball, crushing my natural lense. They had to remove the lense completely, and I would grow up with no lense in that eye, and a popped pupil. This meant that that eye could not dialate, so ive always been light sensitive, and my vision and life, was forever changed.

I used to have to wear a patch over my good eye, to try to strengthen the bad one. My mom said I used to lift up the corner of my patch so I could use my good eye to try to see anything.. being a child made it hard to understand why i wasnt allowed to see using my eye that did work.

I grew up bullied for being cross eyed, as the eye was turned inwards a bit, I got called an ugly cross eyed b**** more times than I can count. Ive been very insecure about how it looked when I was growing up, and would wear my hair infront of that eye to try to hide it.

Ive had surgeries as I grew up to try to straighten it, but it never worked.

A couple years ago, my double vision started turning a muddy blue color and the eye itself was hurting. It was red and bothered and we found out I had a detached retina. Because of previous surgeries, and scar tissue that was left, we tried multiple retina surgeries to save the eye, unfortunately, it wasnt able to be saved.

I am a single mother of 2 boys, with no help or financial support so this was a huge hit for me. I already missed so much work from the multiple retina surgeries, that I had to take out loans to try to survive.

Trying to be a full time employee with a demanding job as an HR Manager, and raising two kids alone while getting multiple eye surgeries, felt like an impossible feat. So ultimately, removing the eye seemed inevitable and the only choice. I took FOUR days off after having the eye ball removed because its what needed to be done for us to survive. I drove and did everything else people with two eyes can do. I refused to let it define me, or to allow feeling sorry for myself put us deeper into a hole.

Now to today and why I am here asking for help from complete strangers...

One morning about a month and a half ago, I went to the hospital in extreme pain. Any light was excrutuating. I had to completely cover my eye and be led like I was blind into the emergency room. I was hysterical to say the least. We found a very bad infection in my only remaining eye. Ive had to spend hundreds of dollars for the special eye drops and medications. I was taking 6 different eye drops alone, one of which was every single hour.

The infection has become so serious they have admitted me to hospital. I had to have my cornea scraped about 10-15 different times while trying to sit there with my eye open and not move.

Ive gone through so many tests. I was basically blind besides very minimal light spots that come and go. I had to learn how to use a blind walking stick... even trying to get a coffee in the hospital lunch area is an extremely stressful, scary, and humiliating task. I feel so lost and embarassed.

Ive gotten lost and was found by police frantic and in tears out in the street because my attempt at being independant, failed. The feeling of complete hopelessness and feeling so lost in a world I once knew how to navigate, is not something words would ever be able to describe.

For 8 or 9 days I was taking eye drops (about 3-7 different drops) every 45 minutes, even during the night. The sleep deprivation makes people delirious and delisional, I was definitely experiencing it.

I could hear the cart wheels coming to give me my drops and the tears started. The drops are EXCRUCIATING and feel like your eyelids are being super glued together, and then attempting to pull them apart. Every 45 minutes... they either burn or sting your eye that is already sensitive and hurting...you cant really imagine how exhausting it is for a person, I almost could not continue. I wamted to run away from here. Ive felt rage, sadness, lonliness and isolation, it feels very unfair. Why me? Why my only remaining eye...

Im regaining my sight a bit, and they have slowed down my eye drops!!!!! Woohoo! I can also sleep through the night starting last night, without being woken every 45 minutes to be tortured. I still dont know when I get to go home to my children..they ask me when I will be able to see again...

The infection was right in my line of sight, and it will scar. I may need surgery in the future, or they may not risk it. I dont know if I will ever see even remotely clear ever again. I dont know if I will ever drive again. There is a lot I dont know, but I am hopeful, because that is all I can be right now.

Ive never asked anyone for help, I never milked my situation nor asked for handouts or used it as an excuse to catch a break.

Ive been strong and independent and ive fought every step of the way for the last 32 years. But, I cant continue without financial support at this time, and it takes everything in me to suck up my pride and be asking for help, especially from strangers that dont know me.

I have rent and bills to pay, my children to care for, daycare, school fees, food, everyday living. I truly dont kmow how im going to do it, but i have no other choice but to take this time to heal as working is not an option, I can barely get a tea on my own in the hospital here. I do not want my family and kids to suffer while I take the time to heal. It would be a HUGE weight off my shoulders so I can focus on me and getting my sight back. I want to be back to a normal life, where I work and drive and watch my beautiful babies grow.

If you can help with anything, even a couple dollars, I would be eternally grateful. You owe me nothing, but it would help me and my boys more than you know...

Thank you for reading and please protect your damn eyes at all costs!!!! We dont realize what a privilege it is to be able to see... I got to find that out unfortunately.

Thank you for reading a bit of my story. Please keep us in your prayers.