Bruna was born on October 2020 in Geneva, Switzerland. She is now 20 months old, and a year ago she was diagnosed with Usher Syndrome type 1B. Bruna is a laughing, communicative, active girl; happy. She loves books, swimming pools, the ocean, and slides, but what she enjoys most is giving orders and treats to our tiny dog Pippa.

The shock of the diagnosis and the decision to put implants in our daughter have made this 2022 the most complex and difficult year of our lives. Knowing that you can lose your vision makes the process extremely complex.

Bruna received her cochlear implants when she was only 11 and 15 months old, first on the right ear and then on the left one. For us, her parents, it was a very important and hard decision, and we experienced the process with concern and anguish even though we knew that we were making the best decision to give our daughter the gift of hearing. If technology has advanced to the point where it is now, it seemed like an opportunity for us to benefit from it and for Bruna to be able to listen to the world. It’s been a few months since Bruna started talking, chatting and babbling, and she loves to say NO, both with her voice and her hand. She talks and listens to her voice, to music, and loves to dance and play the piano. It’s wonderful to see her enjoying all the different sounds.

Her sessions with the physiotherapist are hard but, they give her a lot of soundness and freedom of movement. It’s been a few months since she started walking, still holding our hands, but she already wants to run and especially climb everything. She loves it. Going up, and down from sofas, stools, benches… she has developed a very sophisticated technique, and it’s hilarious to witness her skills.

Bruna is a girl with a lot of character and determination, she knows what she wants and, now that we are approaching the terrible two, she is driving us crazy. We are delighted with so much beauty and power. It is our love for her that is driving us to establish the European branch of Save Sight Now. For her, we work every day to find the cure for Usher syndrome type 1B. For her, and for all those children and adults with whom we share this space of usher stories.