'Life-changing' donation means Jazmyn can get the eye surgery she needs

Born with a rare eye deformity, Jazmyn, 5, has been suffering pain and irritation every day and needs to have her right eye removed.

But the $10,000 cost of the operation and prosthetic eye had been out of reach of Jazmyn's parents, Sharon McDonald and Timothy Kerr, who are both battling serious health conditions themselves.

Until now.

A generous Ballarat couple, who wish to remain anonymous, donated $10,000 to the family to ensure Jazmyn gets the surgery she desperately needs.

The couple was touched by Jazmyn's story and wanted to "enable her to live a more normal life".

"We want to give her a chance," they said.

The wider Ballarat community and the town of Waubra, Victoria, near the family's Glenbrae home, have also rallied around Jazmyn, raising almost $6000 through a GoFundMe campaign that will help with the ongoing cost of her care.

That will include a new prosthetic eye each year until she is a teenager, at a cost of around $2500 for each new eye.

Jazmyn's emotional parents struggled to find the words to thank the couple and all those who have supported them.

"There's such a lovely community willing to get behind our little daughter," Ms McDonald said.

"Due to the generous donation and support we have had, we have been able to book in ... so she can have a life-changing surgery.

"She's no longer going to be in pain soon when this is all over, and mentally she's going to feel so much better. She's going to feel normal and going to be able to play and feel like all the other kids (which) she hasn't had the opportunity to do since she was born."

A "nervous but excited" Jazmyn is looking forward to May 22, when she will have her right eye removed at St Vincent's Hospital.

"We sat down with her and totally explained everything so she could ask questions," Mr Kerr said.

"As an adult, it's scary to think about someone taking an eye out."

About six weeks after the operation, on July 4, Jazmyn will have the first of three appointments over two weeks with prosthetists in Melbourne who will create and fit her new eye.

"She is excited with the fact she is going to look like everyone else," Mr Kerr said. "Her eye is going to look the same as the other one and she won't be in any more pain after everything heals."

"She will be able to do normal things."

Jazmyn was born more than seven weeks prematurely in October 2019 with a rare eye condition called persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous (PHPV).

At six weeks old, it was found she had a congenital cataract in her right eye and needed surgery, which was ultimately unsuccessful, and she lost sight in that eye.

In 2023, Jazmyn had two emergency surgeries at the Royal Children's Hospital because of a build-up of pressure in the eye, but complications left her sensitive to light, sunlight, and irritation.

Since then her eye has been disfigured and shrunk, altering her appearance and exposing her to bullying from children outside of her friends and schoolmates at Waubra Primary School.

Her eye now often gets inflamed, oozy and painful, particularly on dusty, windy days, meaning she must stay inside.

"This was going to restrict a little girl's life to the point where she couldn't do things that other kids could do," Mr Kerr said. "She's already doing things they tell her she can't, and we're not going to restrict her from doing anything unless she tells us she can't do it."

Knowing that Jazmyn will get the surgery she needs has not deterred her parents from their campaign to ensure other families do not have to fundraise for their children to receive essential surgery.

"If it was just cosmetic, that's one thing, but this is about pain. No kid should be in pain," Mr Kerr said.

They're writing to local and federal members of parliament to ensure surgeries are covered and children do not fall through the cracks of the health system.

"It's pretty traumatic for a family when you're told you have to raise money to get treated," Mr Kerr said.

"She's not the only kid. How many other kids in Ballarat or in Victoria have been through this situation? We are going to keep pushing until we can change this for everyone.

"This is a life-long commitment."