Couple with Perfect Sight Cries Out After Four of their Six Children Suddenly Go Blind

Josephine Odion, a 49-year-old mother of six, has cried out after four of her children, Grace (22), Faith (18), Meshach (16) and Mercy (9) lost their sight to what has remained a mystery not only to her and her husband, but also to medical experts.

Odion shared her ordeal with Punch during a visit to her home. Her husband, Peter Odion sat on the bed, lost in reverie over the myriads of challenges he is battling with.

”My other siblings can’t see me. Since I cannot play with them physically, I tell them jokes to cheer them up.

”Sometimes, I feel sad when I am the only one doing the chores in the home. But I do not mind because I know their condition,” said Samuel, a primary six pupil of Efandion Nursery and Primary School.

Read excerpts from the publication’s interview with the couple.

How many children do you have?

Wife: We have six children, comprising four girls and two boys.

We learnt that some of them are blind. How many are they?

Wife: Four of them cannot see. They are Grace (22), Meshach (18), Faith (16) and Mercy (9).

Husband: The others without any visual challenges are Patience (20) and Samuel (14).

Were those with visual challenges born that way?

Wife: They were born normally without any complications. But when Grace began to crawl, I noticed that she usually left the right path and hit her head against a wall and cry aloud. I was surprised. I looked at her eyes and noticed that something was wrong. I complained to my husband that she could not see. She used to see faintly when she was in kindergarten. But when she got to primary one, she became completely blind.

Did you seek medical help?

Wife: I took her to a hospital in Benin where some doctors checked her and didn’t find anything wrong. They advised me to take her to a church for prayers. When she was 10 years old, I also took her to the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital but doctors there didn’t prescribe any drugs.

I attend Deeper Christian Life Ministry, so I took her to the headquarters of the church in Lagos. I couldn’t see my pastor, (William) Kumuyi, face-to-face because there was no opportunity and there were many security operatives there.

How did the other three children become blind?

Wife: It happened the same way for the other three. When Meshack was little, I took him to the specialist teaching hospital. But the doctors could not find anything, even after carrying out different tests. They asked me how I knew that he was blind and I told them that I know because he is my son.

Husband: They asked me if I had anybody from my family or my husband’s family who was blind and I said no. Sometimes, I ask God what I did that made four of my children blind. But I do not think I committed any sin or wronged anybody that makes me deserve what I am facing now.

Were the affected children certified blind by a medical doctor?

Wife: When I wanted to take them to see Prophet T. B. Joshua at the Synagogue Church of All Nations, I was advised to get a doctor’s report. I did. I don’t have the report with me because I attached it with some documents which were taken to Lagos by my sister and I did not remember to make photocopies of them.

How do you cater for the needs of the children?

Wife: It has not been easy for me. When I go to the farm, I cry to God because as old as they are, their peers are either in school or learning a trade. But they are always inside the house and I am the one who does the major house work like cooking and fetching water. It is really painful. Look at me; I was not as emaciated as I am now. It pains me a lot.

Husband: Things have been hard for us. I cannot even stay on the farm because when I see other children moving around and working on their farms, it makes me feel bad. I have spent a lot of money on them which I cannot even calculate.

One of my daughters (Patience) is sick and in a hospital. She complained of stomach upset. I took her to a private hospital and I spent over N30,000. I later took her to St. Camillus Hospital, where she is currently receiving treatment. The doctor said that I should pay N85,030. I am willing to pay but I don’t have the money.

Has any of them ever confronted you about their plight?

Wife: Yes. One day, one of them (Grace) asked me, “Mummy, my elder sister can see. Why can’t I see? What did you do? Where did you go to? How did it happen?” I told her that I did not go anywhere and that I only noticed one day that she was blind and did not know the cause. She cried bitterly and I cried too, comforting her that God would heal her.

Did you enrol them in school?

Wife: No. I could not cope with the burden of taking four of them to school at once and back home. I don’t even have the money.

Is it true that they couldn’t attend school because there was no school for children with special needs in Uromi?

Wife: No. Meshach used to attend Okpujie Primary School, Uromi. I was told that there is a special school there. I took him there. But each time I left him there, he was always beaten by some of the pupils who were deaf or dumb. The injuries became too much and unbearable. I later told him to stay at home.

How many of your children attended the school?

Wife: Three of them attended the school. It is now about six years since they stopped going there.

22-year-old, Grace Odion speaks about her predicament

When did you realise that you couldn’t see?

I noticed that I could not see a along time ago. I often hit my head against objects when I moved around. It made me cry.

Is it true that you asked your mother why you are unable to see?

Yes, I did. I observed that my sister and younger brother could see but I could not. I had to ask her. She told me to be patient and that God would restore my vision.

How do you cope with your situation?

I am managing to move around. I do not know what my parents look like. I only hear their voices. I can hear people clearly. I believe that my mum is not as beautiful as she used to be because of our present condition. It makes me sad.

Would you like to continue your education?

Yes.

What would you like to be?

I want to be a fashion designer.

Do you have friends?

No, I do not have friends in my neighbourhood.

Why?

I do not go out because of my disability. I only have a few friends who are church members.

Do they visit you?

No. They don’t come to my house because I don’t go to theirs. We only exchange greetings when we meet in church.

Constance Okoeguale, a resident of the area, who is a close friend of the family, described the condition of the affected children as a pathetic one. Okoeguale lamented that the loss of their sight had robbed them of basic opportunities of life and confined them indoors.

”I knew them through their mother because she used to come around when I came back from Lagos. One day, they were discussing and she (Josephine) mentioned her case. I was surprised. I have never seen a thing like that before.

One day, I met one Paulinus Okpere on Facebook. He is the founder of I Care Foundation and I told him the story. He was touched and he helped me to publicise it.

The situation of the family is very pathetic because if the children could see, they would assist their parents who are managing to survive,” she added.

It was also gathered that the children may be suffering from congenital cataracts, a common cause of serial blindness.

Experts say congenital cataracts is responsible for five to 20 percent of blindness in children worldwide and could lead to amblyopia, when not treated quickly. Early treatment for congenital cataract, it was gathered, costs about N100,000.

A consultant ophthalmic surgeon at the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Dr. Wilson Ovienria, said,

”I heard about their case during departmental meetings in the hospital. There are various causes of childhood blindness, those that are born blind or those that end up as developmental blindness. That is, they become blind as they grow. This may happen quite early.

In cases that have been recorded and for those that are hereditary, the commonest cause is congenital cataract. That means the child was born with the condition or acquired it at an early age. It can happen anywhere from birth to any time in life. But for the one that falls under hereditary or congenital, the child must have acquired the cataract before the age of 16.”

On the possibility of a cure, Ovienria stated,

“If congenital cataract is the case, and I think it is the case of the family in question, then, there is a cure.”