feature
A watchf ul eye
Most parents will do
anything for their child
but Queensland father
Dwayne Collins has taken his
dedication one step further,
training as an ocularist so he
can treat his four-year-old
daughter, Liberty.
L
iberty was born with a as a massive surprise. No one can
rare condition called prepare you for the day the ‘perfect’
Microphthalmia, a ideal of having your first child is
developmental disorder where taken from you. But we loved her no
eyes are abnormally small and have matter what and Ashleigh did what
anatomic malformations. She also a mother always will, right from the
has Chorioretinal Colobomas in start, and learnt all she could about
both eyes, and holes in one of the the condition and basically told the
structures of the eye. doctors what the deal was.”
According to Dwayne, Liberty’s
diagnosis came as a shock to he and needed to wear a prosthetic in her
his and partner, Ashleigh. right eye, Dwayne and Ashleigh took
“Ashleigh had a perfectly normal
pregnancy and labour so it came
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vision and hearing impairment
Having decided that Liberty
their daughter to see an ocularist in
their home country of New Zealand.
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