For Fatima and Sorie, a young couple in Sierra Leone, the birth of their baby boy, Emmanuel, brought fresh joy as they embraced parenthood.
“Emmanuel is a good child. We love him very much,” Fatima shared.
As expected, the toddler quickly became the center of their world. His presence filled their home with warmth, laughter, and a deeper sense of partnership between his parents.
“Whenever we go out, he lets other people carry him. He is always friendly to everyone,” Fatima said. “He is always cool and does not cry too much. Emmanuel is a good child.”
But when Emmanuel was a little over a year old, Fatima first noticed something unusual.
“I saw a shiny thing in his eyes, but I thought it was a normal thing,” she said.
It wasn’t until a relative suggested that the shine could be a sign of blindness that worry set in.
“When my sister-in-law told me that Emmanuel is not seeing, I cried a lot,” Fatima recalled. “I did not understand because Emmanuel was the first person I saw with that condition.”
Sorie was working away from home when he received the news. “When I got the call that my son was not seeing, I felt bad,” he said. “I asked them to take him to the hospital so the doctor could tell us the cause of the problem.”
Bring hope to children like Emmanuel
At a local hospital, doctors recommended surgery, but the cost was beyond the couple’s reach.
“Seeing Emmanuel like this makes us feel unhappy,” Fatima said quietly.
Emmanuel’s world was limited to shadows. He was forced to move cautiously, relying heavily on touch and often crawling instead of walking.
According to Ella Hawthorne, the Ophthalmic Program Manager for Mercy Ships, this response was understandable. “Because he can’t really see the world around him, he is probably more comfortable when he’s fully connected to the ground,” she explained. “Like if you put a blindfold on an adult, you want to be more balanced and more stable.”
She added that poor eyesight affects far more than movement. “If people have poor eyesight, it’s just difficult to operate in the world… it would slow him down in so many different areas.”
Without treatment, Emmanuel’s future felt uncertain. His parents worried about whether he would ever walk independently or go to school.
Hope arrived through Emmanuel’s adoptive grandmother, who told the family about Mercy Ships.
“She called and told us that Mercy Ships was coming!” Sorie said.
Once the Mercy Ships crew examined Emmanuel, they knew their dreams of healing would soon be realized. Fatima received an appointment to take Emmanuel for surgery aboard the Global Mercy.
“When the doctor told me that he could do Emmanuel’s surgery, I felt so happy,” Fatima said.
Emmanuel’s surgery lasted only an hour but would impact the rest of his life.
“As far as we can tell, he had cataracts from birth,” explained Dr. Timothy Lavy, a volunteer pediatric ophthalmologist. “If Emmanuel had not had surgery, he would likely not go to school or get a normal education later in life.”
The morning after surgery brought a moment his parents would never forget.
Volunteers went to remove the eye patches as Emmanuel fussed. But as the patches were removed, he paused mid-cry.
Dr. Lavy recalled the scene vividly. “He had a battle in his mind… do I carry on crying, or do I stop because there’s something more important to do?” he said. “He opened his eyes, and you could see there was a new world in front of him.”
Neeltje Hietkamp, a pediatric ward nurse, watched as Emmanuel’s mood shifted.
“He was like a baby who could see for the first time,” he said. “He was laughing… pointing to his mother because he saw her for the first time in his life.”
For Fatima, the moment brought overwhelming relief. “When they removed it from his eyes, I was so happy. I said, ‘Thank you, God; now my son can see!’”
After Emmanuel had recovered, Fatima took her son to reunite with her husband. As soon as Sorie saw them, he gently waved at his son.
“He was following the movement,” Sorie said. “He can now see!”
Emmanuel’s vision will continue to improve over time, but already, his parents have noticed remarkable changes.
“Since Emmanuel received the surgery, when we leave him downstairs, before we know it, he would go upstairs and come back down without anyone helping him,” Fatima said. “He grabs things for himself. He now goes where he was not going before.”
Beyond Emmanuel’s transformation, the experience strengthened the bond between his parents. “Our love has grown,” Fatima shared.
Sorie dreams of a future where his son can thrive. “Now that Emmanuel has had surgery, I hope he will go to school,” he said. “I hope he will learn and become somebody in the future.”