A 2-year-old from India has been diagnosed with an extremely rare condition which causes both of his eyes to swell and protrude, potentially causing him to go blind if his condition gets worse.
His eyes have swollen to the size of lemons
Jailian Kaipeng has been diagnosed with orbital pseudotumor, a rare condition that has made both of his eyes swell to the size of lemons. His condition is caused by an inflammation of the eye muscles, and it is feared that he might have retinoblastoma, a type of eye cancer.
His condition manifested when he was only 2 months old and coming from a poor family, his parents cannot afford the high medical costs for his treatment.
Neirbanglal and Chengmaite, his father and mother, have shared that it’s hard for them to sleep at night knowing that their son’s condition is getting worse, and they’re unable to do anything about it.
His father shares, “A red line would appear and disappear on his eye ball and it’d cause is eye to swell. We were very shocked when we first saw it, we had no idea what to do, or who to turn to.”
“We took him to see our local doctors. But they were baffled. They gave him some medicines and sent us home but his eyes just got worse,” he adds.
The infection started from his right eye and then slowly spread to his left eye. Soon after, the swelling became permanent.
“He’s done nothing because we have no money”
Initially, his parents didn’t know what Jailian’s condition is, but they learned of a Christian missionary who helped them find a good doctor that finally identified Jailian’s condition as orbital pseudotumor.
“The doctor has given my son’s disease a name but he’s done nothing else because we have no money.
“We have no idea what it is, whether it can be cured or what to do next, we’ve had no guidance.
“I have no idea how long we can stay here. I am now jobless as we’ve had to move home. My wife is always crying.
“We can’t sleep for worrying about him. It has started affecting our health too.”
His mother adds that it’s almost impossible for Jailian to close his eyes, and he’s in constant pain.
According to Dr Shashidhar Tatavarthy, a pediatrician, “We need to do a biopsy immediately to confirm the condition and differentiate it from a malignant tumour.
“The boy has not lost his sight yet but if he’s left untreated any longer he could lose his sight completely.
“It is extremely rare to have this condition in a child of two years old. Surgery would be very complex but essential. This child needs immediate attention and treatment.”
Source: mirror.co.uk
READ: Parasitic worms found in teenager’s eye, damaging his eyesight