Diagnosis: Retinoblastoma
Early in 2014, a spot started to appear in young Justin’s eye. At first, this spot was not in flash photography, but visible every so often just looking at him when light would hit his eye in a certain direction. Kelly and her husband grew concerned. Then, they noticed the spot not only when looking at him, but also saw “The Glow” in flash photography. Over the next year, they took Justin to many doctors and received many different incorrect diagnoses. Yet they remained determined to discover why they were seeing this strange reflection. In October they were told that Justin had a cataract that needed to be removed. They took 4-year-old Justin to see Dr. Dowell, a pediatric ophthalmologist, in Fort Worth, TX. At that appointment, they finally discovered that Justin did not have a cataract at all. He had Retinoblastoma. Justin was referred to Cook Children’s Hospital to see Dr. Mark Alford. Dr. Alford felt the best course of treatment was to have his eye enucleated. The procedure was performed three days later. Justin also did not need to have any further chemotherapy. In fact, he handled the surgery beautifully and was back to school in a matter of days. He is now a thriving, strong, active, healthy boy. He has adjusted to his prosthetic beautifully and has not missed a beat since his surgery. Kelly and her husband are very grateful they did not ignore “The Glow” that led Justin to the care he needed.
