Joanna’s eye surgeries fund

Joanna is my beloved sister. She is young and smart 29-years old sister and mom. Last August she gave birth to Zachary - lovely blond little naughty boy with blue eyes.

Our family is now obliged to begin this funding campaign to help save Joanna's eye vision. Urgent additional eye surgeries /called Vitrectomy/ have to be performed on both eyes, one after another. Already 2 performed in top-recommeded and specialized eye clinic, located in Istanbul, Turkey. Vitrectomy is complicated surgery which prevents retinopathy. It clears blood hemorrhages in the eye. Before the last surgery her eye-vision was set on 5 % for left eye and not more than 40 % for the right one. Professor Yetik from Surp Pirgic Hospital in Istanbul is optmist that further new urgent surgeries for both eyes can save her vision. Surgeries are not cheap though and our family can hardly find the sources without outer help.

Joanna - or as all friends are calling her Yo - suffers from diabetes 1st type, insuline dependant. Her story with this illness started some 18 years ago. Diabetes brings tens of daily difficulties to everyone who is unfortunately suffering from it. Strict diets, food regime, many forbidden vices, frequent blood sugar highs and lows, daily sugar control. For all of us, non-diabetic, it can seem as something to be easily managed. But that is only the beginning. With the years passing, many medical complications occur, which can be treated with success and keep diabetic patients liver normal life, or at least somehow normal. Namely eye-vision is one of the first complications. Yo is a real hero as she and her partner /also diabetic/ decided to give a try and give a life to Zachary, despite all complication and life risks.

Dear friends, we all want to give Yo the special gift to see and raise her beautiful boy. This is our Christmas wish and we will all count on your support. She is just away too young for losing the precious moments without seeing. Any donations are welcomed and highly appreciated. Next surgeries need to be done on urgent basis within the next 1-2 months. Not having such would mean it would be too late to save her eyes.

Merry Christmas and thank you for support.

Krystian Tonew and family from Bulgaria.