WHAT should’ve been an ordinary morning for Tashana Easy turned into a life-altering day after her vision became blurry and she attributed it to needing prescription glasses, only to discover she required a staggering $2.8-million surgery to save her sight.

Now, the 17-year-old and her mother, Rosemarie Butler-Carter, are appealing for help to restore her vision so she can realise her dream of working in the hotel industry.

Tashana shared that while attending Merl Grove High School in 2020, she encountered difficulty reading during her online classes. She went to the doctor and received glasses, but she still could not see properly.

After five years and multiple visits to five different ophthalmologists, she said she was referred to a specialist who earlier this year diagnosed her with keratoconus — an eye condition that causes her cornea to become thinner, steeper, and bulge outward into a cone-shape.

A cone-shaped cornea causes blurred vision and may cause sensitivity to light and glare. While the cause for the condition is somewhat uncertain, it is believed that the predisposition to develop the disease is present at birth.

“My left eye is damaged more than my right eye. In my right eye, they said I need hard contact lens, and my left eye has gone really bad so I can’t get contact lens, and I would have to do a corneal transplant,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

Tashana said when she initially received the diagnosis, she was in complete shock.

“I never expect it. Even when me did realise that I couldn’t see, I just thought, ‘Alright, I’m gonna get glasses and it ago be better’, until I realised that I couldn’t see through the glasses. I never expected my eye to get that bad,” the teenager said.

Now a high school graduate, Tashana said she was once able to move about her day seamlessly but now struggles to read, see small items or anything at a distance.

“When I had my Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) exams, I was struggling to see the paper because normally [during] class time, my teachers would print the test a bit bigger for me to see, but with CXC it was different so I was struggling to see the paper and I had to sit at the front of the class. If too much sun was shining in the class[room], my eyes would start to hurt me,” she recounted.

“I have to squint my eyes to see. Sometimes I’m walking and people [ask], ‘Why you a make up your face at me like that?’ when I’m honestly not. I’m just trying to see them,” Tashana added.

Now pursuing a food and beverage course at the HEART/NSTA Trust in Stony Hill, St Andrew, she said, while her condition has caused her much heartache and inconvenience, she is focused on making the best out of her situation.

The 17-year-old is appealing to fellow Jamaicans to help her reclaim her independence and see clearly again.

“Your eye is one of your main senses. I definitely wouldn’t want to be [visually impaired], because I don’t like to depend on people. If I was [visually impaired], I would have to start to depend on people and I don’t want that. If I can see, that would be way better. If I don’t have to squint up my eyes to walk, it would be way better,” she said.

Meanwhile, Tashana’s mother shared that her entire world was shaken when she learned about her daughter’s condition.

“Me almost faint because it is something that she get when she’s 17 years old. She wasn’t born with it, but now she would be living with something that can cause blindness. Believe me when I tell you, it’s just the few people that are around me and those at my workplace who know [about it] that are praying for me and keeping me. I’m really stressed, but I thank God for all those who are around that help me so much,” she told the Sunday Observer, her voice cracking.

Unable to contain her emotions as she recounted the dreadful day her daughter was diagnosed, she cried softly as she petitioned for help to save her daughter’s eyesight.

A janitor, Butler-Carter works tirelessly to provide for her three children. She said she is the sole provider for Tashana because her father had a stroke and is currently unemployed.

With a $2.8-million surgery fee to pay, they’ve started a GoFundMe entitled ‘Support Tasha’s Life-Changing Surgery’, which can be accessed via the link https://gofund.me/4444cee4.

Butler-Carter said she will also host a cake sale on April 30 with the aim to use the money raised for Tashana’s corneal transplant. Individuals who wish to support the cake sale can contact her via her e-mail address at brosemarie516@gmail.com.

“I’m just hoping, trusting, and having faith in God that it’s going to work out. It’s the hardest news I could ever get, but I just trust it will work out,” she said, optimistic that the targeted amount is within reach if individuals band together to help.

“I just need some help. I wouldn’t put any limit on what God can make happen. I’m just seeking help from all who I can get it. Nothing is impossible. I cannot do it by myself, but I am seeking help from all who can help me, please, please,” she appealed.

“[My daughter] is a confident person who is willing to learn. She has the potential to do a lot of things, but her eye is really setting her back in a lot of ways. There are so many things that she would like to achieve in life, but because of her eyes, she cannot do it. I am seeking help,” Butler-Carter pleaded.