SJS damaged Vietnamese man's eyes, but he hopes to see again
February 17th, 2009 by Jennifer Walker-Journey
It seems Ngo Quang Thi has been fighting all his life. As a third-grader, he received an injection to help him overcome a fever, but the injection drove him into a coma. He became violently ill, developing a rash over his body. His skin began to peel off and blisters formed in his mouth, nose and eyes. He was later diagnosed with Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS), a rare but life threatening allergic reaction to medication. Because of the scarring on his eyes, he began to lose vision immediately.
But Thi is a fighter. Despite his failing eyesight, he entered Da Nang University of Technology and got a part time job to pay for his schooling. His eyesight continued to worsen and he received four surgeries on his eyes in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. The surgeries cost so much his family couldn’t afford to even stay with Thi at the hospital. And as much as he tried to study, with 1/10 vision and recovering from surgery to improve his eyesight, he simply couldn’t keep up. He had to repeat a year of school. Doctors told Thi he would likely go blind.
There is one more hope – a surgery at Da Nang hospital in Singapore. The cost translates to about US $24,000. And that is simply out of Thi’s reach. Yet, Thi is determined to overcome his condition and graduate from Da Nang University and, with luck, have his eyesight restored.
Thi’s story is told in the Thanhniem News, one of the most widely circulated daily newspapers in Vietnam with a readership of more than 2 million per week. The newspaper raises money from readers to support a social service campaign to those in need.