Parents See a ‘White Glow’ in Son’s Left Eye–When They Hear Diagnosis, They’re Devastated

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At first, parents Ollie Banks and Leila Gaudry, from Eastbourne, England, noticed a strange light in their 4-year-old son Noah’s left eye. Little did they realize this was an extreme symptom of something far more devastating to come.

“It was just a flicker in his eye that, in certain lights, if he was looking a certain way and there was light reflecting, I would see this white glow,” dad Ollie told the BBC.

Mom Leila told The Daily Mail that what “Google came up with was retinoblastoma.” A kind of eye cancer that affects the retina, which the Mayo Clinic describes as “the sensitive lining inside your eye,” retinoblastoma is most prevalent among children under the age of 6.

When Noah was examined by a specialist just days later, the diagnosis was confirmed. “When the word cancer was first mentioned we looked at each other as we fell apart,” Leila said to Metro. What followed were months of treatment and struggle for the family, which culminated in Noah’s eye being removed. Now, his parents have partnered with the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT) to warn others about the importance of screening.

The CHECT explains that in addition to swelling, redness, and itching of the eye, retinoblastoma can also cause exactly what his parents saw in Ollie’s eye. According to their website, one of the principle symptoms that children with retinoblastoma exhibit is a “white color in the center circle of the eye (pupil) when light is shone in the eye, such as when taking a flash photograph.”

“I had no idea and I'd noticed for a least [sic] a month or so before actually doing anything about it,“ Ollie said. ”You look at the stats and it’s quite rare. You just don’t think it’s going to be you.” Lelia, too, had a hard time believing that their young son was in so much danger.

Their next steps involved taking Noah in to The Royal London Hospital for treatment. The doctors explained that there were two possibilities: either undergoing chemotherapy to destroy the tumor that was growing in his retina or else enucleation, which involves removing the eye while leaving behind the eye muscles.

When it seemed like the six rounds of chemo had done their job, Noah’s parents were relieved. “We felt a wave of relief coming over us as we'd prepared ourselves for the worst case scenario,” Leila told the Daily Mail. The family took some time out to celebrate Christmas, thankful that whatever happened to Noah’s eye, the cancer was not likely to spread to other parts of his body.

However, when they went back for further treatment, they found that the tumor had managed to survive despite all the treatment. Noah’s parents’ first response was anger at what they felt to be the injustice of the situation. However, they faced a decision about what to do next and ultimately chose the option to protect their son from further treatment. “I also wanted the cancer gone and I knew that once his eye had been removed it couldn’t hurt him anymore,” Leila said.

Noah’s eye was removed just two days after Christmas and ended the family’s medical nightmare. “I was truly amazed at how good it looked and how well he coped,” Leila said. “At his first check-up post-surgery he was given the all clear.” Since then, Noah has remained cancer-free and is now 6 years old.

Having a prosthetic eye hasn’t slowed him down one bit. Leila now looks back on the ordeal with gratitude. “I’m relieved Noah had the surgery rather than going through more treatment and it was the right decision for our family,” she said. “Life is so much better and I hope our story can help other families to know that there really is light at the end of the tunnel.”