2024-01-14 05:00:27
At the age of 33, Darlyn Almeida, from Rio de Janeiro, became blind due to complications from appendicitis. The events that led her to lose her vision include a generalized infection and crumbling of the retina — however, the condition worsened, according to her, due to delays in care and medical negligence.
Darlyn’s journey to the cross began in January 2017, when she felt ill and began to feel intense pain in her stomach. “I spent a week looking for assistance. I went to UPAs, hospitals and clinics, but the doctors said it was an ulcer and stomach pain. They only examined me on the sixth day, when the tests showed a blood infection,” she recalls.
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Appendicitis is characterized by a strong and sudden inflammation in the appendix (an organ formed from the wall of the large intestine). Regardless of gender or age, everyone can suffer from the problem which, although not rare, needs to be treated urgently to avoid complications.
Darlyn’s appendix had become inflamed and perforated — the condition is serious, as feces or pus can fall into the abdominal cavity. The inflammation, which was previously concentrated in the annex of the digestive system, spread to the peritoneum, the membrane that covers the abdominal wall.
In the case of the woman from Rio, when the diagnosis was finally finalized, emergency surgery was necessary, which took place a week following the onset of symptoms. “I know that just being alive is a miracle, and I’m grateful to God for that, but I was the target of a lot of neglect and the story was just beginning”, she laments.
The widespread infection
Darlyn was supposed to stay in the hospital for three days to recover. During this time, a drain was placed in her abdomen to remove fluids from the surgery — however, she noticed that a strong-smelling liquid began to come out of the tube. Pus is a symptom of sepsis, popularly known as a generalized infection.
“I was weak, I mightn’t understand what was happening and no one explained anything to me. They admitted me to an isolated room and told my husband that I still had the infection and was not responding to treatment,” she says.
The Rio native began taking strong antibiotics and doctors placed a catheter in her neck. Darlyn had to be fed through a tube, and only started to improve weeks later.
However, during this period, she began to feel that her eye was watering a lot, in addition to producing large amounts of secretion. “The doctors reassured me, they said it might be conjunctivitis, since my immunity was low. They advised me to wash my eyes with serum,” she recalls.
Darlyn was hospitalized for a month. But when she returned home, her eyes were still very bothered. “It looked like there was sand,” she says.
Appendicitis blindness Darlyn low vision (1)
Darlyn began experiencing symptoms of appendicitis in 2017 Getty Images
Appendicitis blindness Darlyn low vision (2)
In the same year, she lost her vision due to a widespread infection following surgery Getty Images
Appendicitis blindness Darlyn low vision (3)
Since 2017, Darlyn has been unable to see in one eye and has low vision in the other Getty Images
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Less than two weeks later, the woman from Rio needed to return to emergency care: she already had so much discharge in her eye that she might no longer open it.
“It was another pilgrimage through hospitals until I got an answer. When I finally got care, the doctor asked if I had had surgery and quickly understood that the generalized infection had affected my eyes. He cleaned the area and asked me to open my eyes. There, I realized that I only saw figures, very faint”, he says.
Darlyn had a retinal detachment, and the layer of cells practically crumbled due to the infection. According to ophthalmologist Renato Neves, from the Eye Care clinic, in São Paulo, the structure of the eye can be affected by widespread infections as it is a highly vascularized region. The bacteria that cause infection end up easily transporting themselves to the eyes.
“In fact, if a case like this is not promptly treated, we can experience irreversible vision loss,” he explains.
Ophthalmologist Karenn Cecília, from Rio de Janeiro, says that several infections can lead to blindness and compromise the functioning of the retina. The longer the diagnosis and treatment takes, the lower the chances of recovery. “Therefore, in the presence of reduced vision, eye pain, red eyes or other sudden eye discomfort, especially following an episode of infection, a specialist should be consulted”, she warns.
As the treatment took so long, Darlyn suffers the consequences to this day: she was left blind in one eye and with low vision in the other. The woman from Rio was only able to be seen by a specialist following telling her story in a consultation at the National Social Security Institute (INSS) — the medical expert was moved and called a colleague in search of help.
Darlyn underwent surgery once more in August 2017, but doctors decided to just clean the cataract that had formed in her right eye. According to them, without adequate examinations, she might have damaged the structure of her eye.
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Em busca de ajuda
Currently, Darlyn uses eye drops and has medical follow-up every semester, when she can make an appointment. The situation remains the same, and does not worsen due to daily care, but the Rio native needs to ask for help from family and friends to continue paying for the treatment.
She tries to save money to see private doctors and evaluate the current quality of her vision. Darlyn also dreams of testing innovative treatments, such as placing a chip in the retina, to see once more. However, doctors say the therapy is extremely experimental, has never been done in Brazil, and it is not certain that it will work.
“Losing my vision completely changed my life. My children were little when all this happened, I can’t see their faces, it’s very sad. But I have faith that it is still possible to reverse it, that I will get the support of someone who can give me back my autonomy,” she says.
The retina (inner wall of the eye following the pupil, the black point of the iris) processes the images captured and is directly connected to the brain
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