The world through the eyes of Maya!

Nurse’s plea to end stigma around 4-year-old daughter’s rare condition

- Sentinel Reporter

RAISING AWARENESS: Maya, with Clare Carrick, left, and mum Kimberly.

A FOUR-year-old girl born has to wear sunglasses and a cap on the dullest of days to protect her eyes.

Little Maya Perickathara is one of just 17,000 people in the UK with a rare genetic condition called albinism.

As a result, the schoolgirl, from Newcastle, has a visual impairment and needs to shield her eyes when outside, as well as her skin.

Now her mum Kimberly Perickathara - a nurse at the Royal Stoke University Hospital - is using World Sight Day to raise awareness of albinism and challenge the stigma surrounding the condition.

Kimberly, who is also mum to nine-year-old son Arlo, said: “Maya's condition - oculocutaneous albinismimpacts the production of melanin, the pigment that colours hair, skin and eyes and often results in significant visual impairment.

“Maya was born with no pigmentation in her eyes and has nystagmus, an involuntary eye movement that affects around 92 per cent of people with albinism.”