What the doctors discovered next left her reeling in disbelief. After being referred to a specialist, Michelle was told her baby had contracted herpes simplex virus (HSV) — not in his mouth, but in his cornea. The likely cause? A kiss from someone with an active cold sore. The revelation hit like a thunderbolt. “The doctor was telling me there’s a fever blister growing in my child’s cornea,” Michelle told Metro. “I was literally looking at him wondering whether it was April 1, because I thought it had to be an April Fool’s joke.”
When a Simple Kiss Turned into a Tragedy
A Desperate Fight to Save His Sight
Refusing to give up, Michelle and her husband flew Juwan to Cape Town, South Africa, where he could receive advanced treatment. Surgeons performed an amnion graft — a complex procedure that uses donated tissue to protect and heal the damaged cornea. To aid his recovery, doctors even stitched his eyelids partially closed to keep the area stable and prevent further deterioration. But the family’s journey is far from over. In April, Juwan is scheduled for another major surgery — this time, to transfer nerves from his leg to his eye.
If successful, this procedure could allow for a cornea transplant next year, giving the little boy a small chance at regaining some vision in his damaged eye. Despite the excruciating ordeal, Michelle says her son’s resilience has been nothing short of remarkable. “Juwan is such a trooper,” she said. “Even when he was in severe pain, he still managed to smile. It’s just not fair for such a tiny human to go through all that.”
