A toddler’s aunt observed something in his photo that ended up saving his life.
Tina Treadwell had just taken photos of her young son Taylor that she was planning to submit them to a modeling agency, but she wanted to show them to his aunt Geraldine first.
However, rather than complimenting Tina on Taylor’s photos, Geraldine noticed something that alarmed her. She saw a shadow in Taylor’s eyes that reminded her of something she had read.
Taylor had a white pupil in his photographs that caught the attention of his aunt.
She suggested Tina take Taylor to the doctor to get it checked and when they did, doctors determined that Taylor had a rare childhood eye cancer called retinoblastoma. The cancerous tumors can develop in young children from birth and often reflects back as a white pupil.
Looking back through her photo albums, Tina noticed the glow in her son’s right eye had been there his whole life. “The glow was there, in his right eye. Even in one where he was just four days old. I’d spotted it before, but assumed it was the camera flash,” said Tina.
The same thing happened when Nicola Sharp noticed a photo of her friend’s daughter, Grace. The flash photograph of the girl had one of her eyes had a white pupil instead of the red tint that most people. Grace lost her left eye to the cancer, but her life was saved.
Grace Freeman was diagnosed with Retinoblastoma after a friend saw this photo.
Doctors told Taylor’s parents that he was blind in his right eye where there was a large tumor and there were three tumors in his left eye. Taylor immediately underwent 4 months of chemotherapy and the cancer is now dormant. He’ll need regular checks but for now he is okay.
An estimated 200 to 300 children in the United States are diagnosed with retinoblastoma each year, according to the American Cancer Society. His parents are now part of a campaign to help raise awareness of a rare eye cancer that can be detected by simply taking a flash photograph.
Early detection is the key to saving their sight and their lives. Share this important information with your family and friends.
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