Know the Glow United Kingdom Ambassador
Stacey recently joined KTG as she wanted to help raise more awareness on vision health but also dealing with life after diagnosis.
Stacey noticed something new in her daughter Grace’s right eye just before her first birthday. When Stacey laid Grace down to change her diaper, the light hit just right, and Stacey could see a yellow mass in Grace’s eye. She wanted to believe this mass was just a result of her “squint,” but Stacey’s intuition told her that this was something more. Stacey researched what she saw, and immediately discovered it could be Retinoblastoma. Stacey spoke with her husband about her findings, and he laid Grace down to look. After her husband saw the mass in Grace’s eye, they immediately rushed Grace to the nearest emergency room.
Stacey and her husband saw many different doctors, opticians and ophthalmologists that day. They confirmed seeing a mass in Grace’s eye. Believing that Grace had Retinoblastoma, doctors sent the family to Royal London Hospital. After examining Grace’s eye under anaesthesia, doctors were able to confirm that Grace did not have Retinoblastoma, but rather a rare eye disease called Coats.
Although they were relieved that Grace did not have cancer, they knew they still faced an unknown challenge ahead. Coats’ is very rare disease for which there is no cure. There is little information available on the disease, treatments and prognosis. Each case is unique, and the family did not know what they were facing.
Stacey lives in Billericay a town close to London with Grace who is now 7 years old and her little brother Hugo who is now 4. She has been studying hard in order to complete her Diploma in Counselling and her goal moving forward is to support families and children through the know the glow platform by being able to reach out and support families post diagnosis.
