The Thawabteh Family, Bethlehem, December 2010

Mr Hisham Thawabteh is a 40 year old man from Beit-Fajar, a village near Bethlehem.  He has five children (three boys and two daughters), four of whom were found to suffer from low visual acuity early in life. His son, Amer, 13 has been seen regularly on Outreach visits to Bethlehem since 2008, when he was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa.  This genetic disorder belongs to a group of similar conditions characterized by progressive peripheral vision loss and night vision difficulties that can lead to blindness. 

Amer’s brother, Asef, 14, is also being followed up by our Outreach team.  Asef was found to be highly myopic and astigmatic, again in 2008.  Both conditions are ordinarily eminently treatable and, elsewhere, would probably have been diagnosed at a much earlier stage.  However, the paediatric ophthalmic services that are provided by our Outreach teams are simply not available elsewhere in the region. 

*Amer and Asef being examined in Bethlehem

Mr Thawabteh’s daughters Hanin, six, and Abeer, ten years old, were also seen by our team two years ago.  Both were found to suffer from refractive errors.  A refractive error, or refraction error, is an error in the focusing of light by the eye and a frequent reason for reduced visual acuity.  The girls were referred to our satellite clinic in Hebron where they were able to receive free eye glasses.

Mrs Thawabteh said that, although her husband is a hard-worker, the family struggle to meet the expense of five children, four of whom require regular ophthalmic attention.  She said that without the St John Outreach Clinic, it would be impossible to ensure her children’s eyesight since ophthalmic consultation is expensive in the occupied Palestinian territory.  Finally, she extends her gratitude to the St John Eye Hospital staff for their magnificent work in the Palestinian community.