"Methanol vodka, the glass I took during my vacation and left me blind"

After spending one night at the bar with her two friends in Zante, Greece, Hannah Powell kept throwing up. She felt exhausted. It was in August 2016.

But it was not an ordinary hangover.

The 23-year-old drank a vodka that, unbeknownst to her, had been mixed with methanol.

This substance caused the blockage of the kidneys and made it blind.

Powell only realized that something was wrong when he woke up in his hotel room, thinking that the light was out.

"I suggested opening the curtains and my friends said they were already open, but I did not know what was going on," she said. the

BBC

.

"I thought they were joking, so I got up and turned on the light, that's when I panicked when I realized that I could not see anything. "

Confusion

Powell, a native of Middlesbrough, in northeastern England, was transferred to an island hospital before being transferred to a larger hospital in mainland Greece.

She was so confused that in her delirium she thought she had been kidnapped.

"I did not know why I could not see, I thought I had something around my eyes or in my head, I remember answering the phone at something on the phone," he says.

"He told me not to worry, that I was traveling here but that the line was cut off.I remember having hidden the phone under my armpit because I thought that it would be okay for me. they were going to take it. "

Poisoning

The tests at the hospital confirmed that Powell was suffering from methanol poisoning.

In a bar, he had served an unregulated vodka mixed with this poisonous substance.

Her friends, who had been drinking the same as her own, had suffered stomach cramps and vomiting, but no long-term effects like her.

"Apparently, the mafias prepare it in the woods and sell it cheaply at bars, which fill their bottles with it," Powell explains.

"So, if you are a customer, you are thinking of buying a legitimate Smirnoff vodka, but it 's not like that, they put it in Smirnoff bottles, real bottles, you don' t like. so have no reason to think that it is not genuine, "he adds.

"It makes the bars last longer, they should not serve you normally, they can give you a lot less because it is much stronger, but it is very dangerous."

The return

Powell returns home a few weeks later and has to adapt to his new situation.

Since his kidneys were still not working, he had to spend 18 months on dialysis until his mother could donate it.

Over time, he stopped seeing everything completely black and began to see blurry images.

Now, he hopes to have a guide dog to become more independent.

"I had a habit of getting up after I forgot that I had lost my sight," he told the BBC.

"I was getting ready to go out and I realized that I could not find my makeup, my hair iron … I opened the shadow box and I saw that A black box, while it's full of different colors, "he recalls.

"It's those little things … like making a cup of tea, I could not find anything, I stumbled a lot on the stairs, I was fine all day and then I fell once in the stairs and that made me feel bad. "

Responsibility

Almost three years have pbaded since these holidays, but no one has taken responsibility for what happened.

Powell thinks that this type of alcohol is still sold in resorts such as Zante.

"Nobody wants to take responsibility, I do not expect them to do it, but I think someone should do it," he says.

"Either the bar knew I was selling alcohol adulterated, or someone was preparing it, but it had nothing to do with me and I would not have taken it if I'd I knew. "

Normal life

Powell says that since she's lost her sight, she's determined to lead a normal life.

He goes to the gym, cinema, shopping and celebrates the birthday of his friends like everyone else.

The NGO RNIB helps him get back to work.

"My sister was great, she helped me a lot with makeup, she also helped me coordinate my clothes according to the colors, because I can not tell them apart," she says.

"I go out with my friends, especially to have a tea or go to the cinema, I like to go to the cinema, stay still and see if I can see a little more,"

"And although I can not see, by listening, I can understand what is going on in broad outline".

Stay positive

Powell says that he always has something on which to focus to stay positive. This year, she plans to live alone.

He hopes to return one day to Zante, not being able to remember the time he has spent this way and wants to know if a visit will awaken his memory.

"The last thing I wanted to do was not to encourage myself to do anything, my mother was very worried if I told her that I was going to the gym. asked how I would go or if I could see the cars coming, "she says.

"I can not see all the cars coming, but the alternative is to stay in the house.I am young and I do not want to get used to staying in the house because I would not be encouraged to to leave, "she says.

"I always stumble, but it does not bother me anymore."