Xanthe's Diagnosis

Xanthe most likely does not have cancer of the retina in her left eye. The opthamologist we saw this morning all but ruled out that possiblity. What a huge sigh of relief! What we found out is that Xanthe can't see very well out of that eye. We thought she could based on Monday's tests, but when the doctor held a paddle over her good eye, she tried to move it away to see the pictures he was showing her. She couldn't tell what the pictures were. That was a sad moment for Scott and me.

When the doctor dilated her eyes and looked into her retina, he spent a lot of time trying different lenses, looking with various lights and pieces of equipment. He couldn't get a clear reading on her vision because of what he called "pigmentary retinopathy." The pigment behind her retina, instead of being uniform, is broken up into little chunks, impairing her sight. His best guess is that it is similar to scarring she probably developed at birth or in utero, maybe due to exposure to syphylis. She isn't a carrier for the disease; but it could have damaged that eye. We have an appointment at Primary's in a few weeks with a doctor that will probably be part of our lives for the next ten years, monitoring that eye and Xanthe's vision. Unfortunately, the vision may not be able to be corrected with glasses or surgery, but it most likely hasn't gotten worse over her lifetime, and probably won't get worse in the future. But she will be almost blind in that eye. I'm sad that Xanthe has never been able to see clearly and sad we didn't know, but incredibly relieved that it's not retinoblastoma (cancer) and doesn't appear to be getting worse. All of this information is still subject to what the specialist at Primary's finds from more extensive testing. For now, we are counting our blessings. Xanthe is counting hers, too. She asked for a Barbie doll today and Golda, Ruby and I took her to the store and helped her choose one. If she figures out how thankful we are about her eye, she'll really take advantage!