Poked in eye by umbrella spoke - Parents appeal for help to buy glasses for Clarendon boy

Parents of six-year-old André Lewis are now wondering how things can change in just one moment. Nadine Sutherland and Orlando Lewis moved from having a child who had the full function of both his eyes, to now desperately struggling to secure the necessary funds to purchase a special lens for their son.

The boy was reportedly playing with kids in his Salt River Road community in Free Town, Clarendon, last September when he was accidentally poked in the eye with an umbrella spoke.

His mother, Sutherland, said that it all went downhill from there as her son had to be hospitalised for one month.

“It was touch and go as doctors said there is a possibility that he can lose sight in the eye as well as the other being affected,” she told CENTRAL STAR.

special glasses

The special glasses is to help improve André’s sight in the affected eye and preventing nerve damage to the other. It is unclear to what extent the boy will be able to see again from his damaged right eye as the stitches are yet to be removed.

“I went on Tuesday to have the stitches removed but the ward was full, so I have been given a new date to return in May,” he said.

Lewis said that the entire episode has brought both emotional and financial stress to the family. Lewis, a sound-system selector, and Sutherland, a domestic worker, are now crying out for assistance.

“It is hard, really hard,” Sutherland said, pointing out that they have to find money to pay for medication and trips to the doctor for check-ups.

Young André also requires a pair of specialised glasses, which cost $250,000.

“We tried a little fund-raiser the other day, but it didn’t work out the way I wanted. I desperately need my son to get his glasses. I am reaching out to anyone who can make it happen. It breaks my heart to see him with that patch over his eyes,” the dad said.

… To assist young André, you may contact his father, Orlando Lewis at 876-469-8179 or his aunt, Christine Allison, at 876-828-9583.