Child Goes Blind From Neglect — His Mother’s Excuse Will Break Your Heart

Two British parents were arrested for child neglect after their son went blind from untreated cataracts due to their lack of care, reported the Daily Mail. The 12-year-old boy went blind in one eye because the parents said they were “too busy” to take him to doctor’s appointments that would have prevented the irrevocable condition.

Reports from investigators paint the parents, 34-year-olds Gillian Hendry and Craig Dick, in an even worse light. Although their son’s pupil had gone white, the pair were completely oblivious to the fact that the child had gone blind. Their excuse: It had been a long time since they had looked him in the face. Judge Crowson tore down the couple for allowing their child to go blind due to such gross negligence.

“His pupil was white not black. The cataract was visibly obvious for at least six months and it could not be missed.You suggest that you were both extremely busy when neither of you had paid employment and lived on benefits. The best interpretation I can put on it is that you are both ashamed and find it difficult to publicly accept what you did.”

Police were shocked when they arrived at the house after receiving complaints from social services. In one bedroom, feces were streaked across the walls. In the actual bathroom, a filthy tub full of cold, dirty water indicated that proper bathing was not a priority either. The boy’s 2-year-old sister slept on a mold-covered mattress. Additionally, the kitchen was infested with flies, while bags of dirty diapers were strewn in the hallway, reported the Daily Mail.

Although the parents will never have a child under their care again after allowing their son to go blind, both are still facing jail time. Hendry is pleading depression as the cause for her apathy, though even her lawyer Pete Wishlade admitted that there was little evidence.

“I don’t know how this has happened, I cannot give any explanation. It is correct to say that she had indicated to a nurse that she had let everything slip because she felt depressed.”

Dick, who isn’t the natural parent of either child, was hysterical throughout the trial. Although his lawyer defended that he had also grown up in similar conditions, he was still given a 26-month jail sentence for allowing the child to go blind. Hendry was given two-and-a-half years. Judge Crowson’s final opinion indicated that he did not feel the couple allowed their child to go blind out of malice.

“The conditions we have seen in the photographs are appalling… [but] I feel this was was inadequacy rather than a deliberate attempt to cause harm to either child. Your own bedroom was noticeably clean although you claimed not to use it.”

The boy’s natural father is now in custody of the child, while his 2-year-old sister is up for adoption. In addition to the child going blind, his untreated arthritis has also left him with a limp.

[Image via University of California]