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Harrison was born on December 29th 2010, he came into this world two weeks late and 10 pounds 10 ounces.
We were so overjoyed at this beautiful big baby boy! As I held Harrison in my arms for the first time I noticed his eyes seemed very cloudy and swollen. I asked the nurse if his eyes looked okay, and she mentioned that most babies’ eyes will look like this when they are first born; already at this time I felt something was not right.
The next morning as I held Harrison the doctor on call came to visit. Once the Doctor looked at Harrison's eyes I knew my thoughts were true, something was wrong. The Doctor told us that it looked like Harrison had Glaucoma, he had seen this once in residency but needed us to be transferred to a larger hospital to be examined.
We were then sent to a large city hospital in Boston, Massachusetts - at the time we were living in America. Harrison was diagnosed with primary congenital glaucoma on the second day of his birth. We were told that we would not know what sight he would have until his first operation, and because his pressures were so high and his case so severe Harrison had a total of 6 operations within the first year of his life.
Harrison now has Ahmed Valve implants in both eyes, unfortunately due to the damage in his left eye Harrison lost sight in the left eye at the age of 7. Harrison has drops to keep his right eye healthy and we see his specialist here in Sydney and America on a regular bases.
Although this was such a surprising diagnoses for us at the time I feel that my entire family now appreciates the privilege of seeing our world and the people we love every day. I will never forget the first time I took Harrison to see a movie and still to this day we all wake up grateful to see each other; there are so many small things during the day bring us joy because we know Harrison is able to see them with us.
The doctor's we have met along this journey are heroes and the most inspiring people I have ever met. Harrison is a healthy, active 9 year old, he loves coding and robotics and when he grows up he wants to be an Artificial Intelligence Engineer; I have no doubt this will happen!!
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As I held Harrison in my arms for the first time I noticed his eyes seemed very cloudy and swollen. The nurse mentioned that most babies’ eyes will look like this when they are first born; already at this time I felt something was not right...Renee (Harrison's mother)
Abbie was diagnosed with glaucoma as a newborn and had surgeries to control her eye pressure. Despite being short-sighted with nystagmus, she lives independently and runs a dance company called Blindful.
Suzanne learned she had glaucoma during an eye check-up when she was 65. Now, for the past five years, she has been receiving treatment to protect her eyes from further damage.
Patricia discovered she inherited glaucoma from her father after developing cataracts. She underwent a successful surgery and is now taking eye drops regularly. She now advises others to get tested early.