How Childhood Flogging Cost Me My Left Eye — Undergraduate

How Childhood Flogging Cost Me My Left Eye — Undergraduate

Twenty-year-old Esther Oriyomi has shared the heartbreaking story of how a childhood injury caused by her father’s belt left her permanently blind in one eye after years of delayed treatment and medical complications.

Esther, a 100-level student of English and Literary Studies at Federal University Oye-Ekiti, said the incident happened when she was six years old during the Christmas period at their family home in Lagos.

According to her, she and other children were playing noisily in the sitting room when her father, who had returned from work and was trying to sleep, became angry and came out to discipline them.

“I was about six years old when it happened. My dad flogged me with a belt, and the iron part hit my left eye. It started bleeding immediately,” she recalled.

The eye injury reportedly caused severe bleeding and swelling, but instead of taking her to an eye specialist immediately, the family initially treated the wound at home with ice packs before later visiting a general doctor.

Esther said she was given eye drops and pain relievers, and after about two months, the pain reduced. However, months later, she began experiencing blurry vision.

The problem became obvious in school when her teachers noticed she struggled to read and write properly.

“My teacher complained to my mum that I was not writing correctly. They had to move me to the front of the class because I could no longer see clearly,” she said.

As the condition worsened, Esther said she frequently tripped, bumped into objects, and struggled with unbalanced vision.

Despite her repeated complaints, she claimed proper medical attention was delayed for years until she developed strabismus — a visible eye misalignment — while in junior secondary school.

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According to her, the first eye clinic she visited allegedly misdiagnosed her condition and prescribed glasses instead of recommending urgent corrective treatment.

“They told us surgery could not happen until I turned 14, so I continued using glasses, but the eye was not improving,” she explained.

Esther later attended Federal Government College, Idoani, where her mother eventually withdrew her temporarily from school to seek further treatment in Lagos after noticing the condition was getting worse.

At another hospital, doctors reportedly discovered that the earlier diagnosis had been wrong and expressed concern that she had not been brought for specialist treatment earlier.

“The doctors kept asking why I didn’t come earlier because the condition had already become very serious,” she said.

Although surgery was later scheduled, Esther disclosed that it never happened for reasons she said were known only to her parents.

Years later, another ophthalmologist reportedly informed the family that the damage to the eye had become too severe and that surgery had only a 50-50 chance of success.

The tragedy worsened after her mother died of cancer in 2023 at the age of 47.

According to Esther, she later began suffering from severe headaches and intense pain in the damaged eye.

“The pain feels like needles stabbing into my eye. Sometimes, I cannot even open the eye because of the pain,” she said.

Further medical examinations reportedly revealed retinal detachment in the affected eye, with doctors warning that surgery might not restore her sight.

She said specialists also warned that there was an 80 per cent chance the condition could spread to the healthy eye if not properly monitored.

“They told me there was no guarantee I would regain sight in the left eye and that surgery might end up being a waste of money,” she added.

Today, Esther said she manages the recurring pain with painkillers while hoping for future medical opportunities abroad.

Despite the trauma and years of emotional pain, the undergraduate said she has chosen to forgive her parents.

“Growing up, I carried a lot of hatred in my heart. But recently, I decided to let everything go. I have forgiven them,” she said.

She also recounted the emotional impact of growing up with visibly misaligned eyes, saying she was frequently mocked by other children.

“People used to ask me, ‘Are you looking at me?’ It affected my confidence a lot,” she recalled.

Using her experience as a lesson, Esther urged parents to take children’s health seriously and seek immediate treatment whenever injuries occur.

She also appealed to parents to reconsider harsh physical punishment as a method of discipline.

“Hitting children is not the only way to discipline them. Parents should learn patience, understanding, and observation,” she advised.

Despite losing sight in one eye, Esther remains determined to achieve her academic dreams.

She said she hopes to become a lecturer after earning her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, adding that she also hopes to teach internationally someday.

The student disclosed that her elder sister currently provides most of the financial support for her education.

How Childhood Flogging Cost Me My Left Eye — Undergraduate

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