The world is a huge place filled with interesting and one of a kind individuals, and if you forget to look up and open your eyes every once in a while, you might miss something unique and special.
Take this Indonesian girl, for instance, who has one of the rarest diseases in the world, which has made her life very difficult.
She was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects the body’s connective tissue. Because connective tissue can be found everywhere in the body, this syndrome can affect many different body parts, though features of the disorder are mainly found in the heart, blood vessels, bones, joints, and eyes.
Due to the disease, her left eye has become permanently blind and swollen, which subjected her to severe bullying and left her somewhat friendless.
Ine (@inersyuhada) took to her Twitter page to share her story.
Halo:) Namaku ine, kelahiran tahun 2003. Aku salah satu penderita penyakit paling langka di dunia, namanya Sindrom Marfan. Aku pengen bgt punya bnyk temen, karna di rl orang* pada jijik ama aku, kebanyakan dr mereka pada mandang fisik.
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Adakah disini yg masih mau jadi temanku? pic.twitter.com/x1rBQIXHtE— ? i n e ? (@inersyuhada) August 21, 2019
Ine wrote, “Hi, my name is Ine, born in 2003. I’m one of the people diagnosed with the rarest disease in the world, called Marfan Syndrome. I really want to have a lot of friends, but in real life people are disgusted by me. Most of them have very physical views. Does anyone here want to be my friend?”
Source: Twitter
Ine had first been diagnosed when she was 9-months-old and had to go through operations around the ages of 4 to 5-years old on both her eyes, though eventually her left eye could not stop tearing up and stopped functioning.
Source: Twitter
“After an examination, the doctor informed me that my left eye had become permanently blind. All the doctors there had thrown their hands up as they could not do anything further. My parents could only surrender to God,” she wrote.
The doctors also discovered that the lining of her heart was very thin, and that if it were to get any thinner, her heart could rupture and she would die.
After that, day by day, her left eye started to change colour and swell. Her parents, on the other hand, cracked under pressure and filed for divorce, and soon after, her mother had remarried and Ine had to relocate to her stepfather’s house and a new school.
That was when the bullying began.
Source: Twitter
“I was bullied in school, at home I had an evil stepfather and relatives. I was so depressed that I thought about killing myself at the age of 10, but I tried to be strong. Not long after, some family issues also caused my mother and stepfather to fight,” Ine explained.
Ine was apparently locked in a classroom with a male student who was just as shy as her by a few bullies. Eventually, when a teacher came by, the bullies had told the teacher that she was dating in the classroom – and the teacher believed them.
Her experiences have rendered Ine lonely, feeling inferior, quiet, and afraid to meet people, compared to the cheeful, talkative and sociable kid she used to be.
Netizens took notice and were quick to offer Ine friendship and emotional support.
Source: Twitter
This comment goes, “Hello! Let’s be friends. Maintain your determination that has lasted so long. I know you’re strong. You are so profound as you’ve made it this far. Thank you so much for reminding me to be thankful for my health.”
Source: Twitter
This comment says, “Be my friend, your eyes are wider and clearer to the world and all that it is compared to those who insult you.”
Source: Twitter
Ine’s strength and determination should be exemplified considering all the hardships she had to go through after being diagnosed at 9-months-old, and she’s only 16!
Her posting has since garnered over 18,400 retweets.
You definitely have a friend in us, Ine!
Also read: Meet Takalah Tan, The Man With Only Half a Brain But The Determination Of Two Men
