When shadows fell, compassion shone
When Kamiel Tarranco’s eyesight started losing its clarity due to a detached retina, he was determined to recover. At only 27 years old, he had a life stretched ahead of him. Luckily, a neighbor advised him to visit the Tzu Chi Eye Center in Sta. Mesa, Manila. There he met volunteer ophthalmologists who worked together to help him save his vision.
When Kamiel Tarranco’s eyesight started losing its clarity due to a detached retina, he was determined to recover. He was only 27 years old; he had a job he was passionate about and a list of things he wanted to accomplish.
The eldest of two siblings, Kamiel wanted to repay his parents’ sacrifices in raising them. His work as a video editor was a huge help to the family expenses. That was until a curtain seemed to fall over his eye and covered him in darkness. Kamiel suddenly lost his job, his confidence, and his dreams.
Terrified of the idea of becoming blind, Kamiel visited various ophthalmologists. However, all four he consulted told him the same thing: “They said it was hopeless,” Kamiel shared. “It was very discouraging.”
Luckily, a neighbor heard about his condition and advised him to visit the Tzu Chi Eye Center in Sta. Mesa, Manila. This neighbor had only good words for the said charitable eye care facility, where he had undergone successful surgery. Kamiel decided to take his chance, too.
Tzu Chi Eye Center’s volunteer retina specialist Dr. Carlo Antonino Nasol, with Dr. Daniel Jose Mendoza, attended to Kamiel’s case. After the consultation, Dr. Carlo admitted Kamiel’s condition was challenging. Kamiel had heard this too many times he could already make out the next words. Kamiel was ready to leave and accept his fate when Dr. Carlo uttered the unexpected. He said: “You are very young. It would be tragic if you became blind. Let’s try to save whatever we can.”
Those words made all the difference. “He was the first ophthalmologist to say those things to me,” Kamiel would say months later. “He was the first eye doctor to have a very positive approach toward my problem.”
While Kamiel knew the risks and his fate probably had not changed, those words had given him something stronger than a promise of treatment for his eye condition. At a time when he was on the verge of abandoning hope, a doctor who recognized his suffering, understood his frustrations, and mourned a future he could lose was like a lifeline, a reason to hold out.
Dr. Carlo and Dr. Daniel operated on Kamiel’s eye in October 2024. The successful surgery improved Kamiel’s eyesight. However, challenges continued to come. In the succeeding months, Kamiel’s eye pressure became elevated as a complication of the silicone oil used to reattach the retina in its place.
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Tzu Chi Eye Center’s retina and glaucoma teams worked together to save Kamiel’s vision.
After the retina team surgically removed the silicone oil in Kamiel’s eye, the glaucoma team monitored his eye pressure, eventually determining that the patient required a glaucoma drainage device implant. However, the device was quite expensive. To help Tzu Chi with the operation expenses, Kamiel’s father, Ricky, a tricycle driver, worked double to supplement the income of their small sari-sari store. His mother, Rosalie, cooked snacks to sell for additional income. Kamiel strived to contribute by selling their products online despite his fading eyesight. Tzu Chi volunteers also helped the family in selling their products to fellow volunteers.
On April 3, 2025, Kamiel’s glaucoma surgery pushed through. Volunteer glaucoma specialist Dr. Maria Catherina Coronel-Nasol supervised Dr. Cathleen Joyce Villafuerte during the complicated operation, which aimed to ease the patient’s discomfort and to stop the progression of blindness.
“He could experience eye pain because of the elevated pressure but with the help of the glaucoma device, his pressure is now within the normal range,” Dr. Cathleen explained after the surgery.
Kamiel’s family welcomed the good news with tears in their eyes. “We are so grateful to Tzu Chi. From the very beginning you have been there for our son,” Rosalie said.
“You gave our family hope that our son would not lose his sight,” Ricky added.
Today, Kamiel’s more stable eyesight landed him a new job offer as a freelance video editor. The world might not appear as vivid as before in Kamiel’s eyes, but he had never seen its boundless capacity for love more clearly than today.
“The doctors in Tzu Chi refuse to give up on their patients,” Kamiel said. “Even if you only have one percent or 0.1 % chance [of recovering sight], they will do their best to save what they can save. For that, I am very grateful.”
