Everyone jokes about how moms have supernatural instincts, and after becoming a mom, I couldn’t agree more. However, being validated by stories like this really does prove that a mother’s instinct isn’t just an urban legend.
When one mom took a photo of her son with her phone, she noticed a small irregularity in his eye that most of us wouldn’t have given a second thought.
However, this mom’s discovery led to her son’s cancer diagnosis and likely saved his life.
When Emily Smith gave birth to her son, Jaxson, she was told that he was perfectly healthy.
Even though Jaxson was born five weeks premature, doctors gave Jaxson a clean bill of health and he went home with his family.
When Jaxson was 11-months-old, his mom took a close-up picture of his face on her phone.
When Emily looked at the photo, she noticed something strange had happened to one of Jaxson’s eyes.
The camera’s flash had caused a red eye in one of Jaxson’s eyes, but the other eye was cloudy and gray.
After a quick Google search, the family decided to take Jaxson for an eye exam right away.
“It was after this that I googled it and looked back at previous photos where we also noticed the white reflex.”
After a quick Google search, the family decided to take Jaxson for an eye exam right away.
Jaxson was referred to a number of doctors and specialists.
After numerous consultations, doctors believed Jaxson could either have retinopathy of prematurity or retinoblastoma, which is a type of cancer.
One specialist recommended a retinal scan of Jaxson’s eyes to determine the final diagnosis.
Thankfully, Jaxon’s parents obliged and the scan was done.
The retinal scan confirmed that Jaxson did in fact have retinoblastoma.
Doctors believed that with chemotherapy, they could save Jaxson’s eye, although he would only have peripheral vision in that eye.
The next few months were an endless cycle of hospital visits and treatments for the family.
The chemotherapy suppressed Jaxson’s immune system, so he could easily get sick after being exposed to even a common cold. This is every parent’s worth nightmare.
For his part, Jaxson was a brave little trooper.
Even though he had to go through months of tests and chemo, and the side effects that come with those treatments, Jaxson was a champ the entire time.
After a difficult number of years, the family finally got the news they were waiting for.
Jaxson’s cancer was completely gone and thankfully, it never spread to any other parts of his body.
Jaxson is now three-years-old and is on track for his developmental milestones.
He’s been through a lot for his young age but has proven that he is a survivor.
Even though a photo turned this family’s life upside-down, Emily’s instincts and observation helped detect her son’s cancer early so that it could be treated quickly. What an incredible example of a mom’s instincts.
“We were told by Jaxson’s school that he is on track for everything development-wise with no concerns.”
“I think we have always been aware that he may struggle due to being premature and also an oncology patient but we could not be more proud of our gorgeous little boy.”
“Even if he was behind we would still be just as proud, but to know despite it all he is still so kind and clever is extraordinary.”
What an incredible example of a mom’s instincts.
