PASCO, Wash. (KEPR) – It took several surgeries, but a 5-year-old girl in Washington State who lost vision in her right eye now can see and she celebrated with a super photo shoot.
“And I honestly thought it was going to be just no big deal.”
Aliyah Arambul was only 3-years-old when she hit her right eye with an exercise band. “And I honestly thought it was going to be just no big deal,” said Jessie Arambul, Aliyah’s mother. “I didn’t expect to spend the next two years of our lives with surgeries and patching.”
Aliyah went through three surgeries at Oregon Health and Science University within two years.
“Her brain stopped communicating with that eye because it couldn’t see out of it so it focused on seeing out of her other eye,” Jessie explained.
Aliyah practiced “patching,” which helps the brain reconnect with the injured eye while also strengthening the eye.
But on September 6th, “I got to take off my patch for the last time,” Aliyah said. And her mom wanted to do something special. They decided on a celebratory photoshoot.
Jessie said, “And I asked what she would want to be in the photoshoot and she said a superhero so we picked Wonder Woman and her favorite color is pink so she had to a pink Wonder Woman outfit.”
Aliyah said the shoot made her happy and wants to encourage others struggling with eye problems.
Aliyah’s mom wants other parents to know that someone out there does understand what you’re going through. “That they’re not alone and you know there is light at the end of the tunnel,” Jessie said.
Aliyah’s mom found support groups on Facebook to help her after the incident and advises others in a similar situation to do the same.
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