By Alex Eliseev
Amal Nassif believed 17-year-old Francesca Zackey when she said the Virgin Mary would appear if Nassif gazed into the sun.
Now 37-year-old Nassif, a devout Catholic, may be blind for life.
She went to Zackey - the Benoni girl who claims to have repeatedly seen the mother of Jesus - to receive a blessing.
'I am shattered' Now she says at least four other people also damaged their eyes after being told "the lady" would spin the sun and confirm her presence to her believers.
On Monday, a distraught Nassif went for treatment to renowned eye doctor Percy Amoils.
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He operated on Nelson Mandela and last year received the Order of Mapungubwe, the country's highest honour.
Amoils was horrified at what he saw.
"This is an absolute disaster and a tragedy," he fumed.
'I am not the sun' "I am shattered. Apparently this has happened to other people, and must be exposed."
According to Amoils, the sun's rays burnt Nassif's eyes in the same way they burn a piece of paper when focused through a magnifying glass.
Her central vision, which allows a person to focus in on certain items, is "severely damaged" in both eyes.
"Let's hope that God is kind to her and she recovers," he said.
However, Zackey says Nassif's problem is not her fault and that she is praying for the woman.
She said the sun was still spinning each day, but should only have been looked at during sunset.
"It went out of my hands, people look at the sun at their own risk," she said. "I am not the sun."
But Amoils issued a grave warning that people must never look into the sun, no matter the time of day.
He was unable to make any promises that Nassif would recover her sight. She is on strong medication to ease the pain.
Nassif and her sister Sandra visited Zackey on May 24 at her home, which the area's security guards now call "the church".
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