My Parents Demanded I Give My Eyes To My Blind Sister. I Just Found Out The Whole Surgery Was A Lie To Scam Me. What Should I Do Now?
Legal Action
Two days later, I called the doctor back to ask if he’d be willing to document what he told me in writing. He was incredibly kind and said he’d been worried about me since our call. He’d provide a written statement confirming that he never discussed living cornea donation with my family and that such a procedure wasn’t medically viable for Haley’s condition.
He asked if I was safe and if my family was harassing me. I realized how serious this looked from the outside. He said he’d email me the statement by end of business day and that I should reach out if I needed anything else.
I reached out to a legal aid clinic that Travis found, and they connected me with an attorney named Mariana who specialized in family coercion cases. She listened to everything over the phone and said that while prosecuting family members was complicated, what they did potentially constituted attempted medical fraud and emotional abuse. At minimum, I should document everything in case I needed a restraining order later. She offered to meet with me that week to discuss my options.
Mariana helped me draft a cease and contact letter to my parents, clearly stating that I knew the cornea surgery was fake. I had documentation from Haley’s actual doctor, and I needed space to process their deception. The letter was formal and legal-sounding, which felt safer than trying to have an emotional conversation they’d just manipulate.
We included a warning that further harassment would result in legal action and that all future communication should go through Mariana’s office. She printed it on her firm’s letterhead, and we sent it certified mail so there’d be proof they received it.
The Manipulation Continues
My phone rang 2 hours later while I was heating up leftover pasta for dinner. I didn’t recognize the number but answered anyway because I thought it might be Mariana calling from a different line.
My dad’s voice came through, quiet and controlled in that way that used to make my stomach drop when I was 12 and knew I was in trouble. He spoke slowly, carefully, like he was explaining something to a child who wasn’t quite getting it.
He said I’d been listening to the wrong people—that outsiders who didn’t understand our family had poisoned me against them. That someone must have filled my head with lies about the surgery because his daughter wouldn’t turn her back on her sister like this. He kept asking who I’d been talking to, what they’d told me, and why I was letting strangers destroy our family.
I grabbed my phone with both hands because they were shaking, and I realized this was Aunt Ruth’s number showing up on my screen. He deliberately called from her phone so I wouldn’t know it was him. Travis had told me to record any calls from my family, so I fumbled with my phone settings while my dad kept talking.
I got the recording started, and he shifted into this different tone—softer and sadder—saying how much he loved me and how family was forever, no matter what disagreements we had. He said I’d regret burning these bridges someday when I needed them and found them gone. That Haley was crying herself to sleep every night because her own sister had abandoned her. That my mom was devastated and couldn’t understand how I’d become so cruel.
Every sentence sounded caring on the surface but felt like a threat underneath, like he was warning me about consequences while pretending to express concern. I mentioned that I’d talked to Dr. Kavanaugh and had his written statement about the surgery never being real.
The line went completely silent for maybe 5 seconds—long enough that I thought he’d hung up. Then the call just ended without another word. I stood in my kitchen with the phone still pressed to my ear, listening to dead air, and my hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
