Cuckfield mother and daughter battle ‘traumatic’ eye condition

Ellie Brown had two eye operations after being diagnosed with Keratoconus at the end of last year, after which her mother Michelle Smith was told she has the same condition.

Michelle said: “When she was diagnosed it didn’t sink in, I didn’t know what to think because I didn’t know much about it.

“They said it won’t get better, which was quite traumatic. We didn’t know what to expect.”

Keratoconus causes the typically dome-shaped cornea to thin resulting in a cone-shaped bulge and possible sight loss.

“I don’t know how she did it, the pain after my operation was quite bad, and I only had it in one eye, she had it in both. I was really impressed,” Michelle added.

Ellie’s sight is now stable but being monitored.

Michelle continued: “We were told we were lucky the opticians spotted it, as it can’t get better but it can get worse.”