British Student Blinded After Being Hit By A Freak Wave While Holidaying In Malta
When Miyako Aiko-Murray was peacefully swimming in the blue summer seas of Malta last year, she would never have expected to lose her eyesight.
“I woke up one night with no sight, only seeing light,” said Aiko-Murray. “The consultants told my family that I won’t be able to get my vision back. I’m heartbroken. I never felt so depressed in my life.”
But after being hit by a freak wave while wearing contact lenses, the 20-year-old student now faces blindness after contracting a rare disease in a shocking turn of events for the family of holiday-goers.
Her story has now been picked up by international media after she set up a Go Fund Me page to raise money for critical operations that she now must undergo – she’s already raised nearly €6,000.
“A year ago today while I was away on a beautiful family holiday to Malta, I went swimming at a beach nearby where we were staying,” Aiko-Murray said.
“A huge wave hit and water went into my right eye, not noticing I left one of my prescription contacts whilst I was in the water,” she continued. “Later on that day I realised my eye was very irritated and red.”
Soon after, she realised something was seriously wrong.
“A week after I came back from holiday, I went to a wedding and noticed my right eye was constantly watering and throughout the day I was in pain,” she said. “A huge migraine occurred and I became very light sensitive. I eventually took painkillers and went to sleep at the reception.”
She woke up feeling better, but the headache remained. Within weeks, she had gone back to studying and even started her new job which she was so excited for.
But then the pain struck again.
“Within three days of starting my new job, I felt a sharp pain which I can describe as a piece of metal in my right eye.”
She was taken to the Accidents and Emergency ward of a hospital, but specialists couldn’t figure out what had happened… until she saw a cornea specialist.
“After many scans and sample taking, I found out that I had this condition – Acanthamoeba Keratitis (AK), which is very rare,” she said.
She was then put on hourly eye drops for a month straight, and became unable to sleep while attending regular hospital appointments.
“In December, just before Christmas, I lost my job due to this condition, I was heartbroken as I felt as everything was getting worse but my family kept me going,” she said.
Then, she caught a second infection.
“In March 2019, I caught a secondary bacterial infection on top of my AK which caused massive corneal scarring. I woke up one night with no sight, only seeing light. The consultants told the news to my family that I won’t be able to get my vision back. I’m heartbroken. I never felt so depressed in my life. I had to eventually stop studying and doing daily activities,” she said.
She now hopes corneal transplants may be the answer she is seeking.
“I still need ongoing treatment as I’m fighting against both conditions which are affecting my everyday life. I don’t know how the future is going to turn out for me but all I can do is pray. The treatment could take months to years to save and could lead to me having several corneal transplants… I am housebound, living in complete darkness and unable to do the things I love.”
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