You've given Shunwen hope for a brighter future

She exhibits the hallmark signs of having limited or distorted vision: eyes not responding to motion, yet darting erratically to track the location of sounds and voices in her immediate vicinity.

In April 2014 at the Shandong Red Cross Eye Hospital, Shunwen was chosen as a teaching case in the glaucoma clinic as part of the Orbis program in Jinan, China. With advanced stage glaucoma, she was in immediate need of surgery. A veteran Volunteer Faculty member, Dr. James Brandt of UC Davis, demonstrated to trainees in Jinan two different approaches to relieve Shunwen’s eyes from further damage: a Baervelt drainage device and an Ahmed valve implant. Post-operative care for these procedures is relatively more simple for patients to manage compared to a trabeculectomy, the standard surgical treatment for glaucoma in developing countries.

Shunwen is an orphaned child, but if her biological parents did have glaucoma, it is very likely that they would be completely blind, said Dr. Brandt. The burden is especially high if one or more elder member of the family is blind or visually challenged as well.

Unfortunately for Shunwen, Dr. Brandt and his team discovered during the procedures that her optic nerves, critical for sight, were nearly wiped out. Because of this, the long-term prognosis for retaining the vision she has is very poor. “[But] without us having done this surgery, she would soon be completely blind,” said Dr. Brandt. “This operation [will allow her to] retain what she has now for maybe a decade or more. And maybe we'll have better treatments in 10 years time.”

Thanks to your support, Shunwen has hope for a brighter future.