Meet Lina, a young girl with a bright future
When Lina was just a few weeks old, she was given a clean bill of health from doctors. But her parents knew something wasn’t quite right with her vision. Following their instincts, Jess and Patrick took Lina to a paediatric ophthalmologist at 20 weeks, where their suspicious were confirmed.
Lina was diagnosed with several conditions that impact her vision, including the most severe form of albinism – a genetic condition known as Oculocutaneous Albinism type 1A (OCA1a). But thanks to Vision Australia, this was a journey their family wouldn’t need to take alone.
"We left the ophthalmologist appointment with a referral for Vision Australia and were on the phone with them by the end of the week," recalls Lina’s Mum, Jess. Vision Australia immediately stepped in to provide early intervention services funded by donations, ensuring Lina received crucial support while her family worked through the complexities of the NDIS.
"Vision Australia has given us so much – it has been our beacon of light in a very unfamiliar journey," Jess shares. "It’s also opened up social connections through playgroups and music classes so we can meet with other families and children with vision impairment like Lina...it’s a really amazing support network for us, which is what we needed,” she says.
This support and social programs have allowed Lina to flourish and given Jess, Patrick, and Lina’s older siblings—Dominic (10) and Alba's (8)—a strong community of families on similar paths.
As Lina approaches her fourth birthday, her family is looking forward to participating in 100K Your Way for a second year. Jess and Patrick will be walking, jogging, swimming and cycling to raise funds to support Vision Australia’s vital work and give back to a community that means so much to them.
“It means so much that people are taking on 100K Your Way to support families like ours and kids like Lina, who will be supported by Vision Australia for the rest of her life.”
About Vision Australia
Vision Australia is the leading national provider of services, technology, and resources for people with blindness and low vision.
We work in partnership with Australians who experience vision loss at any age, connecting them with expertise, support, and community so they can move beyond barriers and towards opportunity.
Today, more than 450,000 Australians are blind or have low vision. This is predicted to exceed one million people by 2050.
Vision Australia is focused on a future where vision loss never obscures what's possible. Where every Australian living with low vision or blindness feels a sense of belonging and has the confidence to shape the future they choose.
Discover more about Vision Australia at visionaustralia.org.
