Jessica

At birth, Jessica's parents had observed that their newborn baby's eyes were misaligned. She was barely two months old when they noticed that her eyes did not always move together.

Their pediatrician reassured them newborns often have such alignment problems but that if the condition did not improve by age five months, Jessica should be checked by a pediatric ophthalmologist.

Jessica's parents grew increasingly concerned when their daughter did not seem to smile in reaction to stimulus.

At age three months, they were referred for an exam. After her first eye exam, Jessica's parents were told she responded to light but the doctors did not know if she could see. It was possible one retina might be detached.

With this devastating diagnosis, Jessica was examined under anesthesia at Jules Stein Eye Institute in Los Angeles. Her parents were told her left eye had a double fold on the retina and was in danger of detaching, that the retina of the right eye was pulled to the side.

The diagnosis was Familial Exudative Vitreoretinopathy (FEVR).

They warned the family it was a real possibility that Jessica may never see very much at all.

Leaving no stone unturned, Jessica's parents had the EUA photos mailed to various retinal doctors across the country. In the interim, they found Dr. Linn Murphree, who suggested she needed a vitrectomy (to try to flatten the fold on the retina). Dr. Murphree stressed that time was of the essence since Jessica's eye appeared to be imminently in the process of detaching. He immediately referred the family to Dr. Michael Trese of Detroit.

Dr. Trese operated on Jessica the following week. She had a vitrectomy in her left eye. Since the retinal fold was so close to the lens, Dr. Trese did not try to use scissors. Instead, he performed an enzymatic vitrectomy using enzymes from Jessica's own blood. At the time, Jessica was only the fifth human to have this procedure performed. The vitrectomy flattened the fold about halfway. She had laser treatments in both eyes to try to prevent more deterioration.

Dr. Murphree provided Jessica with her follow-up care. She was seen under anesthesia every few months. She wore glasses and used an eye patch for several hours daily. Her family received much-needed support from the Institute for Families of Blind Children. The local school district provided a teacher of visually impaired children at home once a week for two years.

When Jessica was two, Dr. Murphree performed muscle surgery on Jessica's left eye as it was constantly turned inward. The surgery was a tremendous success. Jessica continued to wear an eye patch for a few hours daily until she was almost four years old. She will probably always wear glasses.

Jessica is now five years old. She has a great imagination. She loves to play pretend games with her friends, and she dances, swims, and skis. Jessica sees 20/200 in her left eye and amazingly 20/60 in her right. With such great early intervention, and the help of dedicated professionals, the family was able to achieve a wonderful outcome for their beautiful child.