Meet The Inspiring 9-Year-Old Girl With a Bionic Eye | This Morning

Now we have two very special guests at SAA

this

morning

: 9-

year

-old Maya and her mother Lauren have had their lives completely transformed thanks to incredible eye technology. Yes, they traveled to the US to receive treatment from a specialist in the field. who has not only given Maya a cool prosthetic eye that she'll see in just a minute, but she's also changed her life completely and they're absolutely thrilled to be here today, we're thrilled to have them both. We had a lot of fun

this

morning

, didn't we? Yeah, oh yeah, and you do notice that some of the crew dance in the weird ads, right, yeah, I'm a little weird.

Thank you very much, thank you for the invitation. It's fantastic to be here. um right micro Thalía yes that's the condition you have in your eye tell us about that um so basically it's some kind of small eye syndrome so her eye didn't develop properly in my womb um I didn't find out until she was born um but Since then he has had to use facial expanders to help his face grow at the same rate. We have had 24 surgeries. 24 surgeries. Skin graphics. Fat graphics. Granulomas. We have had infections. We've had failed dates. Yes, there have been quite a few. but obviously I found the guy in America and we went out and that completely transformed our lives, but before I found the doctor in America, what life was like, how to, you know, navigate from day to day, I had an eyeful's view. , yeah, so she's been blind since she was born.

She wasn't meant to walk until Ava is 18-24 months old. She broke it eight months ago. You know, it doesn't surprise Maya and it just doesn't surprise me. I'm surprised she's clumsy, don't get me wrong, but she can do anything any other kid can do and we were told she might struggle, so she beat the odds and is absolutely amazing at everything that applies, she's just off the charts. water. With that, Maya, you walked into a small room full of adults this morning and put on your makeup and chatted with everyone. I mean, you called me Craig David quite a bit, which you know, yeah, a little bit of me, right, but you're great.

We're glad you're here and you told me this morning what it was like before you got your UI and what school was like, so tell us what that was like. It was difficult, wasn't it? It was very difficult. They harassed me quite a bit. They called me rude names. They bothered me a lot. I thought I wasn't allowed to play with anyone. People didn't really let me play with anyone. Oh well, we were missing a wonderful friend, Laur. She's fine, that's right. In them, look at you now, wow, that must have been very difficult for you, Lauren, it was really like just watching it because I think when she was younger she didn't realize, obviously, the comments and everything that people did, but when he got home. about how she was feeling, then she stopped going out, she didn't want to go to school, she was going to come in crying, she would come home crying, so we set up counseling for her and it was one of the best steps I've ever taken in my life.

We're done and we're on and on and on and now I've got my baby back you know we know a lot of bright young people who come in and they've been through several operations and they leave school for all those operations 24 and it hinders that development it's not just the physical side of things all those little things that make life complicated, don't they? Yes, she really was. She's just so angry and she's the most outgoing and charming little

girl

, but now she has me. I have my little

girl

back and we are happy smiling and obviously we have been alive for 9

year

s but now we are finally living which is just fantastic.

Sometimes you have to go through those difficult times to mold yourself as a person and you have serious sasma, can you tell us about your new eye? When you want, when it's not in the light, I think it's like the pupil gets smaller, but when it's in the light, it gets bigger, yeah. So it's an eye trick, so basically people will dilate all the way to the eye, which is obviously what we've been going for and you can't even tell if it might not do that. I was thinking it's that way. because I would never have known remember the game you might play this morning maybe you'll play as a guest the eye yes I know and I actually had to guess that's what many pathetic eyes don't move they're static while your new eye behaves very much like the other one, yeah, yeah, so it's obviously molded to the fat graphics that have moved from the belly to the eye and it moves, it's not synchronized, but it's movement and it's fantastic, so he gave it to you . some other eyes too, right?

Yeah, well, we ordered a special one for her. You've had some special upgrades. Could you show us one of your eyes? Okay, now, while um Maya shows us I'm going to ask you some questions about the doctor in America now I know that you were um you were searching and searching and searching weren't you looking for this treatment? How did you find the doctor in the United States who has it? I designed them like new, so I've basically explored every artificial eye examiner in the UK. I have them on Instagram, I have them on Facebook, obviously I have them on all the reviews and I just followed them and followed her for a few years here she is that's great that's great that's great oh god and you did it so fast that's so great oh you look like a superhero is that love heart is a rainbow love heart and what else does it glow in the dark glow in the dark do you know how many 9 year olds are out there right now I love her wow so this is your Tik Tok like this that you are a dancer you do dance moves on Tik Tok your eyes shine Jo, look, yes, nothing stops you, Maya, nothing at all, and you are good at soccer and very good at soccer, and you have a ball Favorite soccer, who is your favorite soccer player?

Just Scott, wow, okay, yeah, we love us some Jo Scott. you had to raise a lot of funds to pay for this, it's not cheap, tell us about that, so we basically increased the fun, so we made three eyes, we had the

bionic

, which is the one with the dilated pupil, we had the fun eye, which is the one she's using now, she designed it herself and then we have a backup eye so basically this backup eye for when we go get the next mold as she grows it's a little bit bigger so it will start to expand the cavity ready. for the next treatment we are going to go and get and obviously it's not cheap to get there and stay but their first treatment sequence was six in 10 days whereas now when we go we can fly.

We only have three days because the main base is done and then we fly back to Los Angeles and how much is it, um, £4,600 for eyeball price, um and then obviously when you have to leave and come back, um, but we agreed to go every 18 months and mom will work some extra hours and save some money so we can get through it and then we'll try to squeeze in some of that vacation while we're away. there, well, you know, you know, we should do it. I think we should get you another eye. I think we should buy you an eye.

No, yes, yes, we would like to buy you an eye. Oh no, you won't. I cry oh wouldn't you like that you can have whatever you want in it you choose it well we will get you another R you made me cry I'm so sorry you deserve it because you are such a bright young woman and You have shown that all those people are unpleasant at school, what WR were, yeah, do you love school again? Yeah we've moved to schools and oh my god she's just taking you the school is so much better yeah it's amazing isn't it?

Did you know? When you came over this morning I thought this little lady had some real magic and you really have some serious sass. I thought Here comes the problem. That's probably why she called her C Davis DAV um Maya, would you come? Come back and show us your new eye, yeah, okay, yeah, thank you so much, oh my God, thank you for no, thank you for having it, thank you.