Vanessa Mdee, former Tanzanian singer, has shared her eyesight loss journey, reconstructive surgery, and insecurities after being noticed by netizens on her YouTube channel Vee and Roo.
“In 2015, I went to Nairobi, Kenya for Coke Studio with Burna Boy, and we were performing. It was a lot of fun. I landed in Nairobi on Sunday and went to sleep. On Monday morning, I woke up with excruciating pain in my left eye. I couldn’t understand what it was. I shared with my team but didn’t want to make a big deal out of it,”
“The pain got crazier as the week went on. I went to see a specialist, and he said I had experienced retinal detachment. I didn’t understand it back then, but over time I have become more informed. I was losing my eyesight day by day…
We went into some emergency procedure and the doctor did the best he could but we couldn’t save my eyesight. So I ended up losing my eyesight about 10 days after. For someone born with two seeing eyes, it was quite a blow,” the now US based content creator candidly said as she walked her fans down memory lane.
Despite multiple doctors’ advice, Vanessa, a mother of two, experienced retinal detachment, leading to new challenges such as driving difficulties and a mental health troll, causing her to take a break from social media.
“I took a break from social media for about two to three years to focus on my mental health… Just before having Seven, I posted a picture on my socials, and honestly, I started seeing the picture circulate. I didn’t understand what was going on. Then I realized they were talking about my eye…and it made me a little bit insecure,” Vanessa Mdee revealed.
Finishing up she gave props to her husband, American actor, singer and rapper Rotimi for being super supportive through the whole ordeal.
“I have the most supportive husband in the world because he was always complimenting me. He’s just the best,” the mother of 2 gushed.
On the current state of her eyesight and recovery journey she said;
“Thank God for reconstructive surgery and science. I had eye muscle surgery that allowed my eyeballs to get back in place… It was super successful, and I thank God. My eyesight is not yet back a hundred percent, but we are definitely getting there.”
