A mother from Alberta, Canada, saw a white glow in her toddler’s eye and immediately knew what it was. Days prior, she had read about a child with eye cancer; her informed suspicion led to an early diagnosis for her little boy.
The concerned mother made her 18-month-old son, Carson, an appointment with a doctor. Owing to a cancellation, a specialist called her the same evening to assess Carson via video conference. The toddler received an official diagnosis, bilateral retinoblastoma, at a hospital in Edmonton on Nov. 2.
Teresa admitted that it wasn’t shocking, but it was scary. “I think I already had it in my head,” she explained. “I think it shocked my husband a little more that it was cancer.”
Just four days later, Teresa and her husband, Denis, flew Carson to SickKids Hospital in Toronto for surgery to have his right eye removed, as it was full of tumors, and to get the three small tumors in his left eye treated with a laser. “The prognosis is that because the tumors are small, and if we keep on top of it, he should have 20/20 vision in the left eye,” said Teresa.
While finding it hard to watch Carson confused and nauseated due to his general anesthetic, Teresa praised children’s ability to bounce back. Just 24 hours later, Carson’s bandage was removed. The next day, the energetic toddler was running and playing like any normal day.
“[W]e are humbled by your generosity,” she said.
As a precautionary step to not allow the tumor to develop anywhere else in the body, Carson will need to undergo chemotherapy.
“I’m going to be honest, I’m not handling this news as well as I did the initial diagnosis last time,” Teresa admitted. “My heart is broken... we thought we had dodged this bullet... we didn’t want this to be the route needed to be taken.”