My blind baby can

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Lois Bennett, 35, f got to witness her little boy see for the first time…

As the boys pushed their little brother, Theo, along in the pram, I could tell they both lovedhelping out.

‘He’s asleep, Mum!’ my eldest son Noah, nine, shouted over to me.

‘Well done,’ I smiled. It was March 2018, and me and my husband, Joe, 37, had just welcomed our third baby boy into the family.

Both Noah and Toby, seven, were thrilled about being older brothers and despite arriving three weeks early, Theo seemed to be doing well. He had a little bit of jaundice, but nothing for us to worry about.

As the months went on, the boys remained just as smitten with their baby brother.

‘He should start to recognise you when he sees you soon,’ I told Noah one afternoon.

But so far, Theo didn’t see to recognise any of us.

He responded to tickles, b never to one of us walking in the room.

I thought it was unusual but tried not to worry about it too much.

‘They all develop differently,’ Joe said, reassuring me.

‘You’re probably right,’ I thought.Besides, I was a

midwife and Theo seemed to be perfectly healthy in every other way.

Only, when Theo was seven months old, I was feeding him in the lounge one day.

Looking at him, I noticed something unusual.

There appeared to be some clouding over both of his eyes. Panicking, I jumped up and took a look in the mirror at my own eyes.

Was it normal? Or had I only just spotted it? I didn’t have the same clouding over my eyes, but I wasn’t sure if it had always been there for Theo.

Grabbing my phone, I started videoing and immediately sent it over to my friend who's a doctor.

Take him to see the GP , she messaged back.

The fact that she hadn’t said much else worried me, but I

With his big brother Theo didn't recognise us

got an appointment with the doctor as soon as I could.

‘I think Theo has childhood cataracts,’ the doctor explained to me.

‘If it’s left untreated it could result in blindness.’ I was terrified and immediately called Joe to explain what had happened.

all makes sense I told him. e just thought Theo wasn’t miley baby, but it turned

t he’d been having trouble ith his vision all along.

After being referred to a pecialist in Leeds, we found out Theo needed to have an operation as soon as possible.

It would get rid of the taracts and prevent any her damage.Within a matter of days, we were in Leeds Royal Infirmary and Theo was having the surgery.

Waiting in one of the cafés in the hospital, both Joe and I

were worried sick. We’d been handed a buzzer to tell us when Theo was out and ready for visitors.

‘It’s like what you’d get waiting in a restaurant queue,’ Joe said, trying to keep things light-hearted.

We tried our best to take our mind off Theo, hopping from café to café, until the buzzer finally went off.

Walking into recovery, I could see Theo had big bandages over his eyes. ‘Poor thing,’ I cried. The surgery had taken four and a half hours and I was so I noticed something unusual in his eye

REAL LIFE

Seeing clearly

relieved to see him, but it was heartbreaking at the same time.

‘Everything went fine,’ the nurse assured us.

The same day, Theo was allowed to go home, but the following morning we returned to have the bandages over his eyes removed.

As the nurse removed patches, Theo’s whole f seemed to light up.

Immediately, I could tell he could see me. ‘There’s that smile!’ I cried, as I watched him take everything in.

‘I wish Igot that on camera,’ Joe said.

‘You can film it when he gets his glasses,’ the nurse explained to us. ‘His vision will be even better

Giving back

Our smiley boy Our beautiful family

w weeks later, when Theo t his new glasses, we made re that we had our camera at e ready. Holding Theo in my arms, e nurse placed the glasses er his eyes. Slowly we watched him look ound in wonder. Can you see your Daddy?’ I oed to Theo, as he stared straight at Joe. For the first time, it seemed like he could finally recognise his dad. ‘Look at that little smile,’ Joe cheered. Gazing around the room, Theo was taking everything in. It was incredible to see and

I’m so glad we filmed it.It was like a fog had finally been lifted for him. At home, Theo was able to engage with his brothers properly and his vision was much better than before. It was wonderful to see him start to develop. But the surgery hadn’t quite removed all of the cataracts and some of the cells had started to grow back. In June, he had to have a second surgery to remove the cells, but we hope this time they’ll be gone for good. We’re still not completely sure what it means for his vision in the future, but we do know that he’ll need some extra support as he makes his way through school and probably won’t be able to drive when he's older. But he’s such a happy little baby, you wouldn’t even know that he struggles sometimes. We’re just so grateful to all the brilliant staff at Leeds General Infirmary. They were incredible. Joe even took part in a huge cycle ride to raise money for the hospital’s charity, Leeds Cares. Next, he’s taking on a gruelling triathlon to raise even more money for the hospital. Physically it will be tough, but Joe couldn’t think of a better reason to get involved. The doctors saved our little boy’s sight, and we couldn’t be more grateful for what they’ve done.

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