The journey with Violet's left eye has been a lot of back and forth with feeling victorious, then more unknowns and a lot of uncertainty. At the very beginning of Violet's diagnosis with Retinoblastoma, after the specialist had carefully assessed the condition of her left eye, the size of the tumor and the proximity to the optic nerve, we were faced with the decision of fighting to save Violet's eye or removing it completely. Violet's first diagnosis was Unilateral Retinoblastoma, meaning it was found in only one eye. However, Violet was so young at just 7 months old, and so, there was a significant chance that her diagnosis would change to Bi-Lateral Retinoblastoma after time showed us more. With Bi-Lateral Retinoblastoma, there are many more risks. Tumors could begin to pop up in her non-affected eye in the future and if we removed Violet's left eye she could have the chance of losing both. We prayed over the decision and then we took it to heart when the specialist told us that if it were his child, he would try to save the eye. We were also told that there was a good chance of her sight being restored in her left eye if we could get the tumor to shrink enough with chemo to laser it away. We chose to fight to save her eye. And, we chose correctly, as 3 months into chemotherapy, a new tumor was found in her right eye. This changed Violet's diagnosis to Bi-Lateral Retinoblastoma.
After 6 months of chemotherapy, the very large tumor shrank significantly. So much so, that Violet's specialist said that it was the largest reduction he had ever seen in his career of over 25 years! A miracle! This was wonderful news for the health of our baby girl. The only bad thing was, the tumor never detached itself from the optic nerve. We all had hoped that the tumor would shrink and be lasered away, but the placement of it right at the optic nerve posed an obstacle that we couldn't get around. Lasering would be too risky as it could kill the optic nerve. And so, Violet has this chunk of inactive tumor there to this day and it will remain until medical advancements are made that we pray for. We also pray for a miracle that it somehow falls off the optic nerve or disappears! As you know, we believe in miracles.
While Violet was only 13 months old when she finished chemotherapy, she was too young to accurately access the vision in her left eye. They told us the chunk of inactive tumor would be blocking her central vision but that she may have peripheral vision. After many EUAs, the specialist would told us the damage was severe and that the very large tumor destroyed much in its path as it shrunk. They couldn't tell us with certainly what her vision would be.
Violet has shown us many signs over the months that she did indeed have some vision and so they decided to perform an Electroretinography (ERG) at her next Exam Under Anesthesia (EUA). This test would let us know more.
Well, Violet's ERG showed some hope! The test showed retinal function where they expected there would be none. We will have to wait until Violet is a little older to see if a corrective lens could help. We didn't even know that this could be an option! At this time, it is confirmed that Violet does have some peripheral vision. Praise God! The chunk of inactive tumor is still centrally located and in front of the optic nerve. So, Violet's central vision is majorly blocked by this mass and unfortunately, it still cannot be lasered away. We will continue to pray for healing in this area. Please pray.
Violet's EUA showed the inactive tumor is still stable and there was no recurrence! Thank the Lord! ♥
We are so grateful for all of your continued prayers for our sweet Violet. Thank you for encouraging our family and we pray that we encourage others along the way also. ♥
After 6 months of chemotherapy, the very large tumor shrank significantly. So much so, that Violet's specialist said that it was the largest reduction he had ever seen in his career of over 25 years! A miracle! This was wonderful news for the health of our baby girl. The only bad thing was, the tumor never detached itself from the optic nerve. We all had hoped that the tumor would shrink and be lasered away, but the placement of it right at the optic nerve posed an obstacle that we couldn't get around. Lasering would be too risky as it could kill the optic nerve. And so, Violet has this chunk of inactive tumor there to this day and it will remain until medical advancements are made that we pray for. We also pray for a miracle that it somehow falls off the optic nerve or disappears! As you know, we believe in miracles.
While Violet was only 13 months old when she finished chemotherapy, she was too young to accurately access the vision in her left eye. They told us the chunk of inactive tumor would be blocking her central vision but that she may have peripheral vision. After many EUAs, the specialist would told us the damage was severe and that the very large tumor destroyed much in its path as it shrunk. They couldn't tell us with certainly what her vision would be.
Violet has shown us many signs over the months that she did indeed have some vision and so they decided to perform an Electroretinography (ERG) at her next Exam Under Anesthesia (EUA). This test would let us know more.
Well, Violet's ERG showed some hope! The test showed retinal function where they expected there would be none. We will have to wait until Violet is a little older to see if a corrective lens could help. We didn't even know that this could be an option! At this time, it is confirmed that Violet does have some peripheral vision. Praise God! The chunk of inactive tumor is still centrally located and in front of the optic nerve. So, Violet's central vision is majorly blocked by this mass and unfortunately, it still cannot be lasered away. We will continue to pray for healing in this area. Please pray.
Violet's EUA showed the inactive tumor is still stable and there was no recurrence! Thank the Lord! ♥
We are so grateful for all of your continued prayers for our sweet Violet. Thank you for encouraging our family and we pray that we encourage others along the way also. ♥
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