Susete - the light of your eyes

Life took almost everything from Susete. Now that she is 90, she has a terrible fear: that of losing her sight. Are we going to help her to do not lose the light of her eyes?

Susete completed 90 years this month, although on the citizen card there are only 89 - in the past, parents only registered births when they could, and the family was very poor. In a large family from Setúbal, Susete grew up with many difficulties, even having to pick up food from the garbage to eat. At the age of 5, an aunt from Lisbon took her to Lisbon to take care of her and put her to work. At the age of 6, Susete scrubbed steps filled with ice and transported extremely heavy boxes of butter up stairs. At 17, she left home to get married and lived the greatest and only love of her life. She fell ill at age 35 with cancer, which was followed by numerous other serious illnesses that have weakened her throughout her life but without ever preventing her from working. Despite not knowing how to read or write, Susete has immense wisdom and even participated in the 25th of April. She had 5 children during her marriage, all of whom died. When I met her, I learned that, in 9 months, Susete had lost her husband without being able to say goodbye to him and her last two children. It was, therefore, absolutely alone for several years. Due to her loneliness and fragile health situation, Susete had to leave home and has been in a Home since 2019.

The Hospital de S. Bernardo, who has been with her for many years, scheduled her for cataract surgery around 2015 but Susete couldn't go because she didn't want to bother others with the treatments following the operation. And so she gradually lost sight. When she resumed her ophthalmological consultations, the pandemic greatly delayed the process and the Hospital recently informed that Susete will have to wait at least 1 more year for the retinal consultation and, consequently, much longer for cataract surgery. Panicking blind, Susete ended up going to a private consultation at CUF Almada where, despite having detected an age-related macular degeneration (which has no cure), they urgently advised a cataract surgery on the right eye (for the left one unfortunately there is no longer a solution). The doctor who accompanies her at the Home, despite her fragile situation, advises the operation "for yesterday". The surgery costs €2,500 but Susete's pension does not allow this operation to be performed. Are we all going to help Susete not to loose what little she has left, the light in her eyes?

About the author

My name is Céu Guitart and for 18 years I have founded and run the Meninos de Oiro Association (www.meninosdeoiro.org), which supports children and young people at risk or in danger.

A few years later, I helped founding and directed the Always with you  Association, which supported people who were alone and/or with disabilities, through which I got to know Susete about 10 years ago.

Susete is an admirable woman who, despite all she has suffered, managed to keep her sweet and generous heart intact. And she has a wisdom and strength that is rarely found in a human being.

Budget and due dates

The surgery costs €2,500.

When the total value is reached, the cataract surgery at Susete will be immediately scheduled at CUF Almada.

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