A couple noticed an unusual ‘white glint’ in their young son’s eye, which prompted a life-changing discovery. Lowri Gallagher was initially not overly concerned by the slight variances in her son Kooper’s eyes, but mentioned it to Shane Stevenson, her partner.
The couple’s worry escalated when they observed that Kooper’s left eye reflected a white gleam in the dark. After conducting an online search, they came across ‘retinoblastoma,’ which is a rare form of eye cancer usually found in children and frequently detected by a camera’s flash.
Using the flash function on their phones, they took multiple photos of Kooper’s eye and were shaken by the persistent white glow in each image. The worried parents hurried Kooper to the doctor who then forwarded them to Birmingham’s Children’s Hospital on December 13.
There, Kooper was diagnosed with unilateral retinoblastoma. Although the cancer has led to blindness in his left eye, chemotherapy offers a chance to save the eye itself.
Kooper’s parents spotted a ‘strange glint’ in their child’s eye
(Image: Kennedy News and Media)
Reflecting on the situation, Ferndale-based dad Shane said: “My partner said she saw something funny in his eye but she didn’t really say what and I’m not a big panicker so I thought it’d be fine.”
After observing a troubling symptom in their son’s eye when the lights were turned off, involving the pupil turning white, parents took immediate action. “A couple of nights later, I had the boys at home and I noticed it myself. When the lights are off his pupil goes white. You couldn’t see it properly, you could see it if you looked a certain way and there was a reflection in his eye, you could see a little bit of white in his pupil.
“I googled it and there were a couple of things that it could’ve been and one of them was eye cancer, retinoblastoma, and I panicked a little bit then. Google said that another symptom to look out for is taking photos with the flash on and seeing the white pupil. Obviously we did that and we saw his white pupil.”
“We kept taking pictures with flash and his pupil was always white in them so we panicked then. We took him straight to the doctor’s. They told us in the hospital that he had been blind in the eye but we had no idea, he hadn’t shown any signs of being blind.”
Faced with uncertainty about their child’s health, they braced for a range of outcomes, including treatment options: “It’s all unknown really. Our initial thought was that he was going to lose his eye but he will undergo chemotherapy to try and keep his eye. It’s not guaranteed but we’re hoping for that. My initial thought was that it would be something serious, but nothing prepares you to hear that your child has cancer.”
Lowri, the boy’s mother, reflected on her initial reaction and the process of coming to terms with the diagnosis: “I didn’t think anything of it, I didn’t realise the seriousness of it. Shane didn’t believe me at first but a couple of days later we took the pictures, which made it stand out more.”
Shane, 35, opened up about the heart-wrenching week before his son’s illness was identified, saying: “The week before we found out what it was was the worst week. I didn’t know what it was, how fatal it would be, if it had spread, I was wondering if he was going to lose his eye. At least then we knew what it was and what the plan was, it was a bit of a relief because the speculation was over. I just felt numb, I didn’t know how to feel.”
His son Kooper is currently undergoing intra-arterial chemotherapy and faces a minimum of two years of treatment, including chemotherapy injections and laser therapy.
Despite Kooper’s challenging journey, which involves eye drops and anesthesia, Shane reflects on his son’s resilience: “He doesn’t understand why he is having eye drops and really doesn’t like it, there’s a lot of kicking and screaming. He doesn’t understand why he has to be put to sleep when we go to the hospital and that’s hard to watch, forcing a mask on his face.”
Shane also shared that his own proactive Internet research was crucial: “I would have noticed his eye looks different from the other but I probably wouldn’t have gone to the GP urgently, I probably would have waited until he got worse. I probably wouldn’t have been immediately alarmed until it got worse.”
His early attention to Kooper’s symptoms played a significant role in seeking timely medical advice.
The couple have issued a plea for other parents to vigilantly check their children’s eyes. Shane said: “The consultant in the hospital said that lots of people ignore it and end up losing their eye so I’m really glad we caught it when we did and went straight away as soon as we noticed it. Definitely look out for things like that and check regularly.”
In an online message, Lowri urged: “Be vigilant, check their eyes, take photos of them with the flash on, and if something doesn’t feel right in your gut, get it checked.”
Supporters can contribute to Kooper’s cause at the following link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-a-family-through-the-stress-of-unilateral-retinoblastom.
UNILATERAL RETINOBLASTOMA EXPLAINED:
The NHS describes retinoblastoma as a rare eye cancer that predominantly affects young children, targeting the retina located at the rear of the eye. The retina is crucial for sending visual signals to the brain.
Early detection of retinoblastoma allows for more successful treatment outcomes. This disease is commonly associated with a genetic mutation and can be found within families.
Retinoblastoma manifests in two primary forms: heritable (genetic or inherited), which often causes tumours in both eyes (bilateral) or in some cases just one; and non-heritable, which is not genetic and usually involves a single tumour in one eye (unilateral).
Kooper’s parents spotted a ‘strange glint’ in their child’s eye
(Image: Kennedy News and Media)