Jaxson was saved by a photograph that revealed a white glint in his eye: a symptom of retinoblastoma.
Photographing your toddler from all angles is an unfortunate habit that the vast majority of young parents have developed. But this incessant strafing can sometimes prove useful. In the south of the UK, Owen Scrivens detected serious eye disease in his son. A picture of 14-month-old Jaxson showed an unusual whitish sheen in the pupil.
Typical symptoms
A medical student, Owen Scrivens was immediately alarmed at the white glow in his son’s eye. The first consultation at Felpham Hospital in Sussex was unsuccessful. The team directs the family to a specialist whose practice is located in London. It was in the British capital that the couple obtained the precious diagnosis. Jaxson suffers from retinoblastoma.
This retinal cancer mostly affects children. 9 out of 10 cases are diagnosed before the age of 3. The tumor is not always hereditary, but always linked to a genetic mutation. Left untreated, it progresses rapidly and causes vision loss in the affected eye. The early signs are exactly those presented by the son of Owen Scrivens: white spot on the pupil and squint.
90% survival
Luckily for little Jaxson, retinoblastoma was spotted early enough. Thanks to chemotherapy, the size of the tumor was reduced by three. But the child will have to be followed all his life. However, the prognosis for this type of cancer is excellent; survival exceeds 90% at 5 years.
This mishap turns out well for the British family. Jaxson’s parents decided to share his story in order to educate other parents about this rare disease. A crowdfunding campaign was launched, on GoFundMe. The Scrivens hope to raise enough money to help fund the Sussex Snowdrop Trust, which specializes in serious childhood illness. In more than a month, 1,500 books have already been collected.
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