Monday

We arrived at Dr.s office before the appointment at 10am. We waited a long while then were told that Medicaid had the wrong Dr on her insurance. So Nancy had to call them and have it corrected. We sat on pins and needles that day.

As we were taken back, I couldnt help myself, I started blasting at the assistant all the things that we'd seen and that I was scared about retinoblastoma. I think I even shocked Nancy. He immediately took a look in her eye and left the room. When the doctor came in, of course I told him what we'd seen and he did several exams on her eye.

He looked very concerned, which of course scared Nancy and I. Then he sent the assistant back in for Elizabeth's shots.

He came back and said he was referring her to Eyes of Texas. We said ok, when? He said you'll be in there by tomorrow..

We left. We never got that call that day. We called and called back.

Then we finally were told we could see the new doctor on Wednesday. Ok.... we're set......
Back to waiting and waiting and waiting............... this part sucks.

Reassuring each other, telling everyone. Everyone is worried. Daddy is very very upset.

Friday

This is not your  normal Friday. Grandma took days off of work to check around about this. Calling Eye specialists only to be told Texas Medicaid with Superior is not taken by the specialists in this area. Medicaid is not helpful either, assuring us that Superior is the thing to have now. So many free things like dental kits and brochures and over the counter medicine card for $10 or something like that.
No one is helping at this point. We called everyone..... no answers. We're just glad that there is a Dr. appointment Monday. Even though we have little faith that this doctor is going to be helpful.
He is the one, after all, that told Mommy Serena would grow out of being bow legged and pigeon toed instead of getting her help to fix her legs before its too late to and they have to be broken to be fixed.

Just perfect. We have all weekend to worry now. :( No one's happy. Serena suspects nothing.


Just out of curiosity at about 9 pm, we cover Serena's bad eye and tell her to point out Mommy. She does. We cover her left eye, the good one, and tell her to point out Mommy now. She says " I don't know. I can't see." We look at each other very very concerned now. And we repeat this two more times with other methods....Serena is beyond a doubt blind in that eye. She cannot see. We spend the weekend very very upset, posting to facebook everything that we are seeing and asking for prayers. Our wonderful friends and amazing family do just that, wishing her well.....


Come on Monday.... please, for the first time..... hurry.

    The following night the girls are once again, bathing and and getting ready for bed. Mommy washes Serena and Elizabeth then sits back to watch them play. Grandma comes in smiling and Mommy turns with that same  frown one her face. Grandma, noticing her daughter's frown, looks at Serena, and there the glint from inside of her pupil is flashing back from her right eye once again.

     Mommy and Grandma then decided that they should, at the very least, see if anyone had seen something like this before. While Mommy dries and dresses her two beautiful daughters, Grandma is in her room searching for the cause of that glint online. Once the girls are dressed, Mommy walks into Grandma's room to find out what she had found.


     Grandma looks at Mommy with a grim and concerned frown and says, "Now don't panic but I found a lot of things online about this. The glint in her eye is called Leukocoria, and it could be caused by many things, but... what concerns me most is Retinoblastoma." Mommy's heart leaped in her throat as she wrapped her arms around her little Serena and began to ask Grandma as many questions as she could, that came to mind. After a long hour of questioning, Grandma decided to send Mommy and the girls off to bed with some small comfort that Serena would be seeing her doctor that coming Monday.




The yellow glint in her eye at the right corner is the tumor itself.

First sign

Serena and her big sister have been staying at Grandma's house for over a week when the girls are taking a bath and getting ready for bed. Momma looks back at Grandma with a frown and notices the same frown staring back at her as Grandma looks into Serena's eyes, then to big sisters eyes then at Momma, who's name is Nancy.

What's that? Grandma asks. I was wondering the same thing, Momma says. It was a faint glint in Serena's right eye. It reminded them both of what a cat's eye does when a light shines across it, reflecting the light back out.

This day we did nothing. We weren't concerned. We thought it was probably nothing, but we dwelt on it as we got ready for bed.