BREAKING NEWS: Mienke can see
Her brain, however, cannot interpret what she sees meaning that she cannot recognise what she sees
MBOMBELA – Her mother, Verna Mulder, broke the news on the Facebook group, Please Pray for Mienke on Wednesday.
An eye specialist visited the baby girl, who is currently undergoing rehabilitation at Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital in Auckland Park, Johannesburg where they performed phase one of a cortical visual impairment (CVI) test.
MRI scans showed that, as a result of her severe brain damage, she might not bee able to see and possibly walk and talk. Her parents were hopeful that former was not true.
The test showed that, despite her ability to see, her brain, however, cannot interpret what she sees. This means that she cannot recognise her parents.
“This is just phase one and I believe, with hard work along with the therapists, we can soon reach phase two,” said Mulder.
“We are going to continue praying and believing that God will heal Mienke’s eyes and brain so that she can see,” she added.
Verna and Ryno are considering stem-cell transplantation. They are due to meet with the specialist on Thursday.
- CVI is a term used to describe visual impairment that occurs due to brain injury. It differs from other types of visual impairment which are due to physical problems with the eyes. It is caused by damage to the visual centres of the brain, which interferes with communication between the brain and the eyes. The eyes are able to see, but the brain is not interpreting what is being seen.
- CVI is often referred to by other terms including: cerebral visual impairment, neurological visual impairment, brain damage-related visual impairment and so forth. All of these terms refer to visual dysfunction resulting from injury to visual centres of the brain.
