Toddler's devastating condition spotted after mum uses camera flash for photo
A mum was advised to take photos of her son after noticing something amiss while on holiday.
George Walsh was having a great time in Tenerife with his family when his parents spotted an unusual orange glare in his eye. Mum Victoria was told by her own mother to take a photo of her two-year-old son using flash. She explained that if the glare turned white, it could indicate retinoblastoma - a rare eye cancer affecting young children.
George's parents decided to get a flight home the next day and went for a referral at the opticians. The toddler was then referred to Birmingham Children's Hospital and it was confirmed George had retinoblastoma. If treated too late, the condition can lead to the loss of the affected eye, and can even prove deadly if it spreads to the brain.
George was enjoying his holiday but family were unaware he'd an underlying illness (Family handout)
George, two, during treatment for retinoblastoma (Family handout)Victoria, from Warrington, shared with ECHO: "We were on holiday and I had been noticing an orange glare in the naked eye, face to face. I said to my mum 'I keep seeing this glare in his eye do you think it is anything to worry about?'"
"My mum said 'it is not white is it?' and I said I didn't know. She said 'take a picture with the flash on'. She only knew this because my auntie's, best friend's niece had retinoblastoma and she lost her eye. That was the only reason she was aware of it, but didn't fully know what to look out for. She knew it was something to do with a photograph. I started taking photographs and they showed white. Then you obviously Google - the worst thing you can do - and the next day my husband saw it while he was travelling down in a lift. He saw a white glare in George's eye."
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The parents rang a family friend Jo Baren, who runs Jo Baren Eyewear, for advice. The 32 year old added: "I asked if this was your child or as a friend what would you do? She said 'it could be the time of the essence you need to get home if we think it's what we think it is'." Victoria said: "All within a week we found it and then [George was] diagnosed. They were absolutely brilliant, hats off to the NHS. She added: "It was huge shock, scary and you wish it wasn't them. But we were glad we found it and could treat it and hopefully he will be able to keep his eye."
George had three rounds of localised chemotherapy which was put through an artery in his groin and straight to his eye. The toddler has lost the vision in his eye but doctors are now trying to preserve it. The two year old now has to have laser into his eye every four weeks, which could carry on for two years. George will also need regular scans when he is older to make sure the tumour is not changing or active. Victoria, 32, has praised her son as a "brilliant" and "a little trooper". She's started an Instagram page to share George's battle with cancer and raise awareness about retinoblastoma. You can follow their journey here.
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]
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