Young Jaxson Scrivens was welcomed into the world by his loving parents, Emily and Owen, five weeks ahead of schedule in what appeared to be in good health.
However, this sadly wasn’t the case.
One day, when at home with Jaxson, doting dad Owen decided to take a picture of him with the flash on.
But upon looking back at the picture, Owen noticed that one of Jaxson’s retinas were red, while the other showed a white reflection.
After some not-recommended-for-the-players-at-home googling, Owen and Emily decided to take the 14-month-old to a doctor, then an opthalmologist, then another two consultants to have his eye assessed.
And, as it turns out, following a retinal scan it was discovered that Jaxson has a type of cancer called retinoblastoma.
“Retinoblastoma is a childhood cancer arising from an over growth of retinal cells in one or both eyes and can strike from the time a child is in the womb up to five years of age (rarely later),” the description of Jaxson’s condition reads on his GoFundMe page.
“This cancer is treatable if caught early.”
And this is why the youngster started chemotherapy to try to save his eye – and his life – right away.
“I looked through some old photos and you actually can see the point where it changes in late November,” Owen tells Metro UK.
“There’d been nothing else wrong, although after we noticed the eye colour he started to develop a bit of a squint.”
“After the chemo he’s very sick for a couple of days, he’s just not his usual self and doesn’t want to do anything, but after a few days he gets back to his usual happy self.”
‘His sight is alright – they can’t do a proper eye test but from what they’ve found, he’s missing a bit of tunnel vision.”
“It’s going insanely well and we’re so proud of him.”
The young British couple are currently raising funds to help them ease the financial strains treating their little boy’s illness has rested on their shoulders, as well as to raise awareness about the disease itself.
“Some children at the hospital had both their eyes removed, which is horrible, and we want people to catch it early,” Owen explains.
“What’s really shocked us from talking to people is them saying ‘my niece or nephew had a white glow in their eye but we didn’t think anything of it’.”
If you would like to learn more about retinoblastoma, visit Australian Government Cancer Australia’s Children’s Cancer website for more information.
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