Having the courage to look beyond her disability

11-year-old Adelyn may be on way to better vision soon after eye operation

By Melissa Pang, The Straits Times, 1 Dec 2012

FOR the first time in her life, Adelyn Koh may be able to see more than just moving shadows and flashes of bright colour.

The 11-year-old, blind due to a condition known as Peter's Anomaly, had her right eye operated on last month.

Adelyn made the news in September as the girl who was raising money for surgery to restore her eyesight. Her mother, Madam Mary Lim, 39, came up with the idea of selling CDs comprising piano tunes composed by Adelyn.

That things have come this far and that her operation went smoothly was a huge relief for the articulate child.

"Since I had been worrying for some time, my heart lightened a lot. It was not months of worrying, you know. It's been 11/4 years, and a few days, to be exact. Ever since I first visited Dr Ang," she said in an interview at the family's five-room flat in Punggol last week.

Adelyn, who studies at Lighthouse School for the visually impaired, has cloudy corneas. The condition also predisposes her to cataracts and glaucoma. Even before her first birthday, she had undergone four cornea transplants, which all failed.

Last month, Associate Professor Leonard Ang, medical director and senior consultant of The Eye and Cornea Transplant Centre, performed a complex eye operation to reconstruct the front portion of Adelyn's right eye.

He said he hopes the 21/2-hour operation will improve Adelyn's vision so that she can be more independent in her daily activities, enabling her to lead a more normal life.

Despite her disability, the feisty and confident girl leads an extraordinarily active life.

The eldest of three girls speaks with a slight accent - a result of following American TV shows. Unfettered by her condition, she plays the piano, the violin, guitar, and drums. She has also done ballet, in-line skating and horse riding, and even co-hosted the recent President's Star Charity event.

Madam Lim, a student-care teacher, described her daughter as a very curious and chatty child, who can talk to a complete stranger for hours without knowing his or her name.

The single mother thinks a disability is no excuse for keeping a child at home. "The exposure is very important. They need to learn how to function on their own as much as possible," she said.

Adelyn also answers with an emphatic "no" when asked if being blind was ever a barrier.

"Barriers are things you are scared of, like pain. Or what seems scary ahead. I believe that a person, whether she is blind or deaf, so long as they work their hardest, they can achieve what they want. Some people, not many, look down on (the disabled) and say they are hopeless. But that is not true," she said.

After a pause, she added: "The stories that we've heard about the achievements of disabled children are proof that they are not hopeless. The parents of disabled children, and especially the children themselves, must know this. And so I think this must be published."

It was this "courage in life to enjoy everything even with her disability" that impressed Singapore-based Australian private banker Dominique Boer so much that she contributed the money needed for Adelyn to produce her album.

They got to know each other early this year at the banker's company event, where they performed on Chinese drums together.

With Ms Boer's help, Madam Lim managed to raise more than the targeted $80,000 in just six weeks.

Having reached that target, the CDs are now being sold at half their original price, at $10 apiece. This money will fund the lifelong medical care that Adelyn will require.

There is some way to go before Adelyn makes a full recovery in her right eye and then undergoes an operation on the left eye. Already, she can make out sharper images and see more colours than usual.

Still, the pessimist in her worries about her condition every once in a while. "I constantly tell myself, it's already been two weeks. But my heart still cannot believe the operation has passed. I'm worrying for no reason."

For now, Adelyn is taking her recovery one step at a time. When that total recovery happens, she is looking forward to an overseas trip.

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