DONATE NOW
Sophia is in 7th grade and attends middle school in Laredo, Texas where she takes pre-AP classes. She was diagnosed with glaucoma at the age of four during a regular eye checkup. Her initial treatments included a series of eye drops that caused a bit of depression. As a result, doctors worked with her to change medications and find the proper combination to best help her glaucoma. Today, Sophia continues to control her glaucoma with eye drops. She has no restrictions, so her main job is to take the medication regularly. (Dad helps to remind her!)
Sophia’s advice to other kids with glaucoma is to take your medication as instructed and listen to your doctors. When Sophia was five years old, she started a new school and had trouble making friends because she is shy. Her parents had heard about a local Taekwondo studio and decided to enroll her for lessons in the hopes she would become more outgoing. Her dad liked the idea because it is a good skill to know in order to defend herself. She took to it like a duck to water and has practiced Taekwondo for seven years now.
Sophia’s Taekwondo instructor, Master Jesse Kuhns, affectionately calls her Sophia “The Brat” Montemayor because she has a fiercely competitive nature. She follows instructions and is extremely attentive to her teachers. He believes that her attentiveness is due to a burning desire to win. Master Jesse has seen Sophia compete against girls 3-8 inches taller than her in a sport where height matters greatly. He has never seen her give an inch or back down. She tends to show that it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog! He has never seen Sophia make a single excuse. She’s never complained about her height, her injuries, or her eyes. He had no idea she had glaucoma until she missed a class so she could travel to get to one of her ophthalmology appointments.
The studio where she takes lessons and competes puts a big emphasis on character and community involvement. When a student is going for their black belt, they must also incorporate a fundraiser for a charity. Sophia fulfilled the first portion of her fundraising effort in 2019. For the second part of her black belt charity effort, Sophia wanted to benefit a glaucoma charity, and, after some research, her mom found Cure Glaucoma Foundation. With her parents’ help in getting her around town, Sophia asked businesses, family and friends for donations and over the course of several months, raised almost $2,000! On October 16, 2021, Sophia held a kick-a-thon and performed 1,864 Taekwondo kicks for her part of the fundraiser! Sophia recently tested for and earned her black belt on December 17, 2021.
Just last month, Sophia and her family visited Dallas for a glaucoma checkup and delivered the final donations in person to Mike Kettles, Executive Director of Cure Glaucoma Foundation. Thank you so much, Sophia!
The video clip links below may be best viewed via a Facebook account.
Sophia thanks her generous donors