Toddler diagnosed with pediatric cataracts after mom noticed cloudiness in eyes: 'His world was closing in'
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A toddler in the United Kingdom required surgery to remove cataracts found in both of his eyes.
When now-18-month-old Theo Bennett was born, his parents noticed he wasn’t “engaging visually with the world around him,” SWNS reports. At 6 months, his mother, Lois, noticed clouding in both of his eyes, she told the outlet.
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Not long after, he was diagnosed with pediatric cataracts, a condition that affects an estimated one in every 250 children, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Children can be born with pediatric cataracts, but they can also develop them after birth. Theo’s were congenital, meaning they were present when he was born.
Roughly a year ago, Theo underwent a five-hour surgery at the Children’s Eye Clinic at St. James’s Hospital in Leeds to remove the cataracts, his parents said.
A month later, Theo received corrective glasses — a moment that changed everything for the young boy, who could finally see the world around him.
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The father, Joe, told SWNS that they obliviously been “going on for seven months thinking everything was fine with our new baby but his world had been getting darker and darker. His world was closing in and it was like the curtains have been opened.”
He added: “You think to yourself, what if we had not picked it up? What would he be doing now? If we were at this time now and it had not been picked up he would be severely visually impaired.”
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If left untreated, pediatric cataracts can cause blindness.