Knowledge is power, and one stranger’s knowledge ended up saving this woman’s baby from blindness.
And it all happened on TikTok of all places.
Mother Lily Fleet posted an adorable video about her baby on TikTok.
The 26-year-old mom was partaking in a video editing trend.
The idea was to use camera cuts to make it seem like you were throwing clothes onto your baby as they put them on.
So the baby boy got dressed up more and more as the video went on.
First the top, then the pants, then the shoes.
But as the video went on, there was something strange about the baby’s left eye.
But you wouldn’t immediately notice it – especially if you’re no eye doctor.
The baby boy, Ari-Fleet Knickles, looked just about okay to the untrained eye (no pun intended).
However, all it took was a few frames of video for a stranger to notice something vital.
A stranger, optometrist Laura Brown, pointed out the baby’s cloudy left eye with a strange squint.
She happened to stumble upon Fleet’s TikTok. And it seems like her timing was impeccable.
The 38-year-old optometrist sent Lily a private message encouraging her to get Ari checked.
She made the right call, as tests later revealed that baby Ari had congenital glaucoma.
That information ended up saving little Ari’s left eye.
He was quickly given an emergency operation to have a tube drain the fluid from his eye.
Baby Ari could have become blind had that stranger from TikTok not seen him. What are the odds?
Glaucoma like this is no joke. It’s caused by genetics.
What happens is that the eye’s drainage system doesn’t develop right before the child is born.
And the fact that it’s so rare makes it hard to look out for. After all, we mostly look out for diseases and conditions with obvious symptoms.
Indeed, rare conditions mean symptoms people don’t usually bother to look out for.
When you’re dealing with things that need to be treated urgently, that’s not helpful at all.
“When we saw the specialists they said this isn’t often picked up before seven months so we’re very lucky.” – said Lily
Glaucomas can also be treated in other ways besides surgery. There are topical and oral medications used to help drain the fluid from the eye.
Laura, the optometrist who helped out baby Ari, said she was thrilled to learn that it helped.
Of course. Knowing you made a huge difference in the health and safety of someone’s child can make you feel pretty good.
“I’m over the moon that a woman and a wee boy I’ve never met have been helped.” – said the optometrist from Glasgow
Little Ari will be under monitoring as he lives his toddler years.
When many social media interactions can be quite toxic, the helpful and positive ones tend to stick out a lot more.
And in an age where you can share expertise and information with anyone, why not make the most of it?
Learn more about how a stranger saved this baby’s sight in the video below!
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