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Christchurch charities rally around Fijian baby with rare eye disorder so she can get the medical care she needs

May 9, 2018

The eight-month-old and her mother returned to Christchurch for a second crucial operation.

Two Christchurch charities have rallied around a Fijian baby with a rare eye disorder so she can get the hospital care she needs.

Eight-month-old Rosalia and her mother are back in Christchurch for a second crucial operation after being rushed to the city for her first operation aged only six-weeks.

"It's very hard for me because only me and my daughter could come from Fiji to New Zealand," mother Veronika Nakauairi told 1 NEWS.

The family comes from the island of Vanua Levu where Fijian doctors weren't able to help with her rare eye condition.

They've had free accommodation at Ronald McDonald House and had help from rotary humanitarian program, ROMAC.

Sadly, despite the Christchurch surgeon's best efforts during a four hour long surgery, little Rosalia's eye couldn't be saved. Meaning on this second trip, flesh from her back has been used to build up her eye socket ready for an artificial eye.

In three months, she'll return for a final operation so she can live a normal life, back home in Fiji.

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