Nathaniel was beaming as he shared stories from his recent trip to the United States. He laughed with delight as he recalled his first trip without his mother, rattled off the names of his new found friends and could not contain excitement about his amusement park adventure.
Like other thirteen year olds, Nathaniel is enthusiastic about life and the years ahead. But unlike many others in his age group, he has faced his fair share of challenges – these challenges, robbed him of his sight.
We arranged to meet in the town of Soufriere, St Lucia; we spotted him in the distance as he maneuvered his cane and walked towards us with a noticeable limp, he was accompanied by his mother Pricilla Clement .
Born thirteen years ago, Nathaniel faced his greatest challenge from the outset when he was diagnosed with Sickle Cell disease. However Pricilla was not unnecessarily perturbed by this and figured that by keeping the disease under control her baby’s health would be perfect.
Unfortunately, three years later, things took a dramatic turn.
“He was not born blind, Nathaniel was not blind at birth, but guess what happened? He got a stroke at the age of three. I rushed him to Hospital where they said he had a stroke and this affected his movement. The Doctor’s attributed the stroke to the Sickle Cell disease. They then found out that the stroke affected his eyesight” said Pricilla.
Following the diagnosis, Pricilla went in search of answers.
“First we went to many Hospitals and then to one in Martinique, because he wasn’t walking. They helped him there. As for his sight, it wouldn’t come back so we went to the Blind Welfare (St Lucia Blind Welfare Association) so that he could get some education. We have been getting a lot of help from there”
“It was so very hard on me, I wanted to believe that he would see again, but that didn’t happen and now I think he has accepted this condition for the rest of his life”
Nathaniel has no recollection of what led to his loss of sight. He has accepted his condition and refuses to be held back especially at school.
Like many other children who are visually impaired in St Lucia, Nathaniel attends a Public School where he integrates with other children.
His Teacher, Casim Lansiquot, believes that in the long run the integration of students who are visually impaired with others is extremely beneficial.
“It has had its challenges but I think that the benefit of it is the interaction the students get with others. But that is also a challenge because those who are visually impaired also want to be accepted, so they tend to shy away from visual aids at times. So I have to do a lot of convincing to get them to use the visual materials that they need”
Concerning the role played by other Teachers, Lansiquotis said cooperation is key.
“They are cooperating but when it comes to knowing exactly what the standards are, sometimes there are difficulties especially when Teachers leave or they go to other classes. Another problem is that sometimes they (the Teachers) don’t let them do enough work and at other times they expect too much”
Another key factor in the life of a child who is visually impaired is that of being accepted by their peers.
“Nathaniel and others who are visually impaired are accepted by students, sometimes you’ll hear the occasional joke, but nothing out of the ordinary. They fit in well, very well . I am so proud of them”
For Nathaniel, the future looks bright. So it’s no wonder that his mother Pricilla Clement can now say without the shadow of a doubt: “I have finally learned to accept his condition”