Bullied for His Eyes… Now a New Life

12-year-old Leo was born with strabismus or crossed eyes. As he grew, he said the simplest tasks involving vision became extremely difficult. Like reading.  “We… must… go…said… the… girl…” said Leo demonstrating his reading skills in a staccato tempo.  “When I try to read, I cannot put the letters together. If someone helps me, I can read more. But when I try on my own, I get stuck, and I forget what I just read.” 

And the strabismus has caused other more painful side effects.  “My vision gets blurry and it feels like something’s pulling on my eye,” added Leo. “And if I look at bright light, it burns. 
Sometimes I get headaches around here,” he showed us pointing to his head. “Right here is a really sharp pain.  

Leo said he’s being teased by classmates, and even his cousin. That’s made his life more miserable. “Sometimes I trip or fall when I play soccer because I cannot see. I don’t like it when they call me names… It makes me feel bad. I just look down, and go home”  

Because of his age, Leo's condition can only be corrected with surgery. Paying for it is beyond what his parents can afford.  "I just wanted him to have the surgery so badly. My heart sank when they told us it could not happen,” his mom Martha told us.  

Then one day thanks to YOU, Operation Blessing arranged for Leo to receive an eye exam to determine the best way to help him.  During that checkup, we also took a few minutes to share the Gospel with him, and Leo and his family have now prayed to become Christians!  

Once the diagnosis was confirmed, Operation Blessing paid for Leo to receive the operation he needed to repair the muscles in his eyes. A few weeks later, we went back to visit, and Leo could see everything clearly without blurriness and headaches.       

“His life changed so much,” said his mom. “He says he is seeing really well. Operation Blessing gave him a Bible, and he’s been reading it!”  

“This surgery changed my life,” said Leo with a smile. Kids will not tease me anymore and I can see clearly.  From the bottom of my heart, thank you to God and to Operation Blessing!”  
 

What a beautiful example of how CBN partners share the love of Jesus around the world with people in need! If you’re not yet a partner, we invite you to join us today. Help bring God’s love through initiatives like clean water wells, medical missions, feeding programs, and so much more—all in the name of Jesus! Join us today and become a part of what God’s doing through CBN partners.