Local 4-year-old battling rare eye disease
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Andromeda Montoya has been in and out of the doctor since she was a baby due to her vision loss and her family is doing anything possible to extend the time she has with her eyesight.
Family members noticed her bumping into furniture or holding things very close to her face early on.
After failing her eye exam, she got an eye prescription.
At 16-months-old, Andromeda was given glasses and her parents learned about her rare eye disease.
Her specialist in Phoenix has brought hope to the family by trying to fix her vision slightly with multiple eye surgeries.
Her mother, Desiree Montoya, shares her story.
“As parents, we were kinda put on the spot where we didn’t want to put her through this, but what choice did we have," said Montoya. "Just sit back and let her go blind or at least try?”
Because of her condition, her parents want to give her many fun experiences and enrolled her in the Arizona Cinderella Pageant in Yuma County.
The little bundle of sunshine stole everyone’s hearts and took the crown for 2022’s Yuma County’s Cinderella Tot.
“We wanted to just give her the best possible, we wanted her to be able to experience everything," said Montoya. "She’s always been a performer, she’s always had a personality on her.”
Montoya recalls when it all started after her sister asked if Andromeda was blind after babysitting her.
“She told me, she was like, ‘I’m telling you she’s blind. She can’t see. She’s holding things really close to her face and she’s like tripping over tables and I don’t think she can see.’ I dropped her off with a friend to babysit and my friend told me the same thing, that she can’t see," said Montoya.
It hasn’t been an easy ride for Andromeda and the family, but her mother says they would do it all over again if they had to.
Now, at four-years-old, Andromeda has a negative 14 and 15 prescription.
Although Andromeda’s vision affects her daily, she enjoys giving back to the community and volunteers at the crossroads mission with her family.
She says she can’t wait to start school and wants to join sports like soccer and gymnastics.
