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“The Blind Woman
Who Sees”
“Leave my house!” This
was the cry of a 78 year
old visually impaired
woman called Eudora.
Eudora had lost her
vision due to cataracts
and glaucoma and
started “seeing” strange
people appearing in her
house.
Around two o’clock one
morning, Eudora called
out frantically to her son
complaining that strange
peoplehad entered
her house. Her son
immediately rushed over
to her place only to realize
that his mother, Eudora,
was actually home alone.
There were no strangers in
sight.
“Ask them to leave!” she
shouted, but her son saw
no one.
He knew at that moment
that something was wrong.
Why would a lucid and
intelligent woman as his
mother, make claims of
seeing people that just
were not there? Later that
morning he approached his
mother again hoping that
by then the confusion in
her mind of seeing these
strangers would have
cleared up, but he was
wrong.
In fact she said to him that
two of the strangers were
actually standing behind
him. Goose pimples rose
all over his body and an
eerie feeling of being in
the presence of something
supernatural then came
over him. He wondered for
the first time whether his
mom had possessed some
supernatural powers to see
things beyond the human
realms. Could he be right?
As the days went by the
situation intensified.
According to Eudora, these
people had started moving
her furniture out of the
house and had begun
constructing a brick wall
around her. Sometimes
hundreds she said would
appear wearing gigantic
hats on their head and
be seen running up and
down stairs that never
existed. Animals, birds,
and children also became
frequent visitors. Fear
panic and confusion
stepped in when gargoyles
and grotesque creatures
would loom up to her face
holding weapons in their
hands as though ready to
inflict bodily harm on her.
These were the moments
when her screams for help
would awake the entire
household.
Eudora believed that she
was truly living in Hell and
wondered when it would
ever end.
It may be easy to come to
the conclusion that Eudora
had a mental problem,
however throughout these
ordeals, Eudora remained
psychologically sound in
mind.
What then was happening
to Eudora? Eudora was
in fact suffering from a
condition by the name of
Charles Bonnet Syndrome
(CBS).
What is Charles
Bonnet Syndrome?
According to the Royal
National Institute of Blind
People (RNIB), Charles
Bonnet Syndrome is a
condition which causes
people who have lost
their sight to see things
that aren’t really there,
otherwise known as visual
hallucinations.
Persons suffering from
conditions such as
aged related macular
degeneration, cataracts,
glaucoma,
diabetic eye diseases, eye
tumors or any other retinal
problems could be at risk
of experiencing CBS.
In an interview with BBC
early in 2016, Dr. Dominic
ffytche, lead expert in
visual hallucinations at the
Institute of Psychiatry in
UK referred to Charles
Bonnet Syndrome as
an Orphan Syndrome
which fell between
Ophthalmology and
Psychiatry.
CHARLES BONNET
by Cheron Faustin-Holder
There is no cure for CBS
but it is suggested that
education prior to onset of
a hallucination may help
reduce negative outcome.
The late Oliver Sacks,
M.D., Neurologist and
author of the book entitled
“Hallucinations” referred to
Charles Bonnet Syndrome
as “The Silent Multitudes.”
According to Dr. Sacks,
Charles Bonnet Syndrome
is “still little recognized
even by doctors, and
there is much to suggest
that many or most
cases may have been
often overlooked or
misdiagnosed.”
A Press release from
The Royal College of
Ophthalmologists and the
Macular Disease Society
in U.K have been jointly
calling on eye doctors
to warn patients with
macular degeneration
that they might develop
visual hallucinations. It
is also thought that up
to 60% of patients with
severe eye loss may
develop Charles Bonnet
Syndrome.
With an ageing
population and in
particular persons who
are at risk, the Trinidad
and Tobago Society
for Charles Bonnet
Syndrome emphasizes
the importance of
regular visits to eye
care providers. Charles
Bonnet Syndrome is not
a mental illness.
SYNDROME
