Singer Bobby van Jaarsveld has issued an urgent warning to parents after revealing his son, Leben, allegedly lost 90% of his vision after a laser light shone into his eye, urging families to get rid of the innocent gadget before another child is hurt.
“I didn’t think I was going to share this, but I feel I have to warn people. We never want to experience this again. My son, Leben, lost 90% of his vision because of an ‘innocent’ laser that shone into his eye.”
He said they prayed for a long time, begged, and held on to faith because they were told he was going to lose his eye.
“For a long time we prayed, begged, and held on to faith, because we were told he was going to lose his eye — and the feeling a parent experiences when they hear that is impossible to describe… But after getting a few opinions, thank God we ended up with the right doctor, Dr B Wolff, and he was able to save his eye with a successful operation.”
Bobby added that the doctor himself said it’s a miracle, because very few people’s eyes can be saved after something like this.
“So we praise God for it! Parents… break those lasers.”
A media spokesperson for Bobby confirmed the device involved was the small “laser pointer” type commonly sold at local flea markets.
He added on Thursday morning that Leben initially lost 90% of his vision, but said the operation was successful and that Leben is expected to make a full recovery.
South African regulators warn that even brief accidental exposure of the eye to a laser’s direct beam can cause serious injury — including retinal damage that may lead to blurred/distorted vision, blind spots, and potentially permanent vision loss, and children might not feel immediate pain so the harm can be missed until vision complaints start.
*Please note the article has been amended.
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