A two-year-old precious, little girl who recently had a procedure came here to have an exam under anesthesia to both her eyes. Along with her mommy and daddy, she was accompanied by her grandma and grandpa. They all seemed uneasy. The patient snuggled up to her mom on the stretcher and wasn't ready to exchange her pink footie pajamas for a hospital gown. I tried to put the mom's mind at ease and told her we would put the gown on in the operating room. Then we began to process of dilating her eyes for the exam. Three drops to each eye every 10 minutes for a total of three sets. Some of these drops sting and the patient would cry out, with a questionable voice, "all done, all done'" as she wished we would quickly finish giving the drops. After each set, she would snuggle back under her mother's arms and fall asleep.
The procedure was over in less than 30 minutes. I noticed the doctor walking down the hallway towards the nurse's station. She was shaking her head. I followed the doctor into the room as she broke the news to the family. The girl has retinoblastoma in her left eye. The family took it very well, although I believe they were in shock. They had a lot of questions as the doctor answered as many as she could and preceded to inform them she is sending a referral to St. Jude's Children's Hospital where the specialist could better care for the girl. Sadly the doctor had to inform the parents that their daughter's left eye would need to be removed to prevent the spread of cancer. Considering her young age and her getting used to the prosthetic eye, she should grow up to have a normal life. I reassured the family that St. Jude's would not only take good care of her but would also be there for them. They would help with emotional support, food, gas, and lodging. I also shared with them that I have a few friends that have gone through St. Jude's and one might even be there now. After finding out my friend was still at St. Jude and getting permission to share her number, I sat with the mom, gave her my friend's number, and exchanged Facebook information as I continued to give support and encouragement to them. The mom was so thankful my friend was still at St. Jude and that I shared that information with her.
During our conversations, the mom shared the story of why she decided to bring her daughter in for the procedure. The mom proceeded to tell me she had noticed her left eye glowing in photographs. She said she read on Facebook about some disorder that causes the eye to glow when photographed. The patient had complained of her left eye "being silly". One morning, the mom went into her daughter's room and covered her right eye up with her hand. She preceded to wake her up to see if she complained of anything. She immediately started complaining of not being able to see. At this time the mom was faced with the realization that something could be going on with her vision.
When the patient returned back to her room after the procedure we provided her with bubbles shaped like ice cream cones and a large selection of stickers to help make her feel better. Her mom shared with me later those little toys helped. She overheard her daughter talking with one of her friends and said, "the eye drops hurt but the ice cream bubbles made it feel better". A few days later I received a text message from the mother telling me that her daughter was doing well. The mother thanked us for all our help as they were on their way to St. Jude. The mom asked one thing of us, and that is to make sure we inform others about the glow test. I look forward to keeping up with the patient's progress.