Jake's Story
My son Jake was born with Peter's Anomaly which, for those of you who are unfamiliar, seems to be a catch-all term for an underdeveloped eye. Symptoms can range from a simple scar on the cornea (correctable with a cornea transplant) to cataracts, glaucoma, or worst of all a retina so underdeveloped that would leave little potential for sight.I've been told that 80% of the cases are bilateral and the children are born blind, so we're obviously extremely thankful that only his left eye was affected and the sight in his right eye is perfect. As with any new parent hearing that their newborn is not perfect, we shed our share of tears.
At 3 months old Jake had a cornea transplant and soon after that had another surgery to open up his pupil, which had closed up due to scar tissue. After a dozen specialists, a final test was done to determine if the retina was receiving enough light for there to be any potential for sight in that eye.
Once it was determined that he would not see from the eye, we were referred to an ocularist who fitted him with a conformer. Since the eye was not growing at the same rate this was necessary to ensure that the bone structure in his face would form properly.
After the first or second visit the ocularist painted the shell to match his good eye. We've accepted the fact that Jake will not see from that eye, but from our point of view, our ocularist is a miracle worker and the first thing people say when they see my son is, "what beautiful blue eyes he has".
Please feel free to contact us,
Mitch and Cindy