Mia's Story

Danielle and Jeff Brewer have 2 children, Alexander William (2 years old) and Mia Angelina (10 months old). Mia was born with a unilateral congenital cataract in her right eye. During a routine 2-week checkup when she was 12 days old, her pediatrician noticed that she did not have a red reflex in her right eye. The doctor told Danielle that it could either be a cataract, or she could be blind in her right eye. “I was completely caught off guard and it felt like my heart stopped beating,” Danielle remembers. Danielle’s husband was home with their son, so she was alone when she received this information. She remembers the look on the doctor’s face when he gave her the news, “I stood there crying, holding my daughter, looking into her eyes, thinking why, and how?” Like many people, Danielle thought cataracts only happened in late adulthood. She wanted to know how this could be happening to her beautiful newborn daughter. After scheduling an appointment with a Pediatric Ophthalmologist, it was confirmed that Mia had a unilateral congenital cataract in her right eye.
 
Danielle and Jeff were told that Mia needed to have surgery in 2 weeks to have the cataract removed. They were given information about the Infant Aphakia Treatment Study, which is being conducted to determine if Intraocular Lenses (IOL) are more beneficial than contact lenses. They were given the choice to either enter the study, giving Mia a 50% chance to have an IOL implant placed in her eye, or have Mia wear a contact lens daily.

After a lot of tears and research, Mia’s parents decided to join the study in hopes that she would have the IOL. Mia had cataract extraction surgery when she was 1 month old and about 1 hour into her surgery it was determined that Mia was chosen to have the IOL. Surgery was a success and there were no complications.

Soon after Mia’s first surgery, she developed nystagmus and her Intraocular Pressure (IOP) was high. She was prescribed several different drops, ointments and oral medication to help decrease her IOP, however her pressure remained high. In September, Mia had surgery to treat her glaucoma, she had iridotomy and a Baerveldt valve placed in her eye to help decrease her IOP. In November, she had an examination under anesthesia and her pressure was in the mid teens. She was taken off all drops, which was the first time in 5 months that she was drop free. At one point Mia’s parents were placing 5 different drops and ointments in her eye 15 times a day.
 

Mia has been patching and wearing glasses since she was almost 2 months old and it has been an ongoing battle. About 2 months ago her Pediatric Ophthalmologist approved a black occlusion lens to be used for patching. Mia’s parents describe the lens as a “miracle” because it allows them to patch Mia for 4-5 consecutive hours every day.

Mia’s parents recognize that they are not at the end of their journey, but they are thankful for the care she has received from her Pediatric Ophthalmologist. “It has been a long road, and we know we have many more surgeries ahead of us,” says Danielle, “however Mia’s visual acuity is 20/980, which is a big improvement from 3 months ago. I believe if we stay consistent with patching, and once she receives her contact lens, we will continue to see an improvement in her vision.”