Team
of Compassion Saves Boy's Eyesight
POOR
JAMAICAN BOY GETS CORNEAL TRANSPLANT
By
Amanda Riddle
The Associated Press
BOCA
RATON - A poor Jamaican boy who was slowly going blind had
successful eye surgery Monday thanks to a Florida man who read
about his story in a newspaper during a trip to the island.
 Demar
Brown, who turned 10 Aug. 1, was flown to South Florida to undergo
a corneal transplant to restore his vision. The boy suffered
from a degenerative eye disorder and was forced to drop out
of his elementary school last fall because he could no longer
see the chalkboard.
Lloyd
Millanise, a Delray Beach resident and Jamaica native, read
about Demar in The Daily Star of Kingston during a trip in March.
The article said Demar's family, from the town of Ewarton, could
not afford to pay for the surgery, which could cost up to $75,000
if done locally.
Millanise
said he thought about Demar for several days, and after talking
to his wife about the boys plight, decided to help. He said
he was prepared to pay for the surgery himself, which cost $15,000.
"To
me, money was not the thing," said Millanise, who owns
a coin laundry. "You're helping a young man for his future.
Without an education, without sight, what have you got?"
When
Millanise returned home, he contacted Air Jamaica and the airline
agreed to donate plane tickets for Demar and his aunt, Dian
English.
Then
Millanise approached his eye surgeon, Eric Rothchild, during
a follow-up visit for laser eye surgery he underwent in the
fall.
Rothchild
agreed to perform Demar's surgery for free. A Miami bank paid
for the $1,500 cornea from a 21-year-old donor.
"It
went great," Rothchild told Millanise, English and another
aunt who lives in nearby Miramar after the surgery at the Boca
Raton Outpatient Surgery and Laser Center. "It was a tough
case. It wasn't easy, but he's fine."
Demar
suffered from keratoconus, in which the cornea becomes thin
and cone shaped. It causes distorted vision and sensitivity
to light, although symptoms usually appear when people are in
their 20s.
The
boy's vision had gotten progressively worse in the last year,
until he could see only shadows, Rothchild said.
Rothchild
plans to take the bandage off today, then monitor the boy closely
for signs of infection or transplant rejection. He expects him
to regain his vision, although he might have to wear glasses.
Once
the left eye has recovered, he plans to perform the surgery
on the boy's right eye.
After
learning from Demar, Rothchild formed a nonprofit foundation
to perform free eye surgery on other indigent children who are
blind or have severe eye disease.
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