“Thank you for my little eyes that you bought me”: the story of a Guatemalan autistic girl who arrived in the United States alone to undergo surgery

It was a shared dream that an 8-year-old girl and her aunt saw come true today. Both celebrate that the minor has partially regained her sight.

They come from Guatemala, where Yomari Arreaga was born with a visual impairment and later diagnosed with autism, Univisión Atlanta reports.

Her aunt Floridalma Arreaga, who lives in the United States, received her in 2022. Univision reports that the girl “crossed the border alone.”

Goal: restore vision

It was a risky mission, but the goal was achieved. Yomari was given information about her aunt so that she could tell immigration authorities when she finally crossed the border.

“A man crossed the river with her and handed her over to immigration authorities,” Floridalma said.

They took her to a shelter and “they contacted me. The man, the guide, put a telephone number on a label on his chest,” he told the television station.

YouTube star MrBeast pays for cataract surgery for 1,000 people

First operation

The girl was operated on in Georgia. He has no insurance and will need a second surgical procedure, the American chain indicates.

Nothing and no one will be able to deprive the aunt of the emotion she experienced when Yomari’s plasters were removed.

“The first thing he said to me was: ‘Mama Flor, thank you for my eyes that you bought for methe woman recalled.

Mom…that’s Floridalma to her niece. He took care of her, together with his maternal grandfather.

When should the child be taken to the ophthalmologist?

In the first surgery, “they did the initial cleaning and removed all the flesh from her eyes and she could see a little bit. The doctor gave away the job. Only the room she was in was paid for,” Floridalma said gratefully.

He also has words of thanks for a social worker and for the generosity of the community.

When the girl was three years old, she lost her mother. He found motherly love in his aunt. “I cried when I heard her thank her for her little eyes,” the woman said.

Yomari sees blurred colors and faces, waiting to go back to the operating room and is already going to school. He goes with his brother, he goes happily.

(JO)