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Tyler's Fight Against Retinoblastoma

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PLEASE SUPPORT TYLER:  So this all began Monday, February 14, 2011 when Tyler went to the pediatrician for his 2 month appointment. His mommy noticed that Tyler looks cross-eyed at times so when looking at his eyes he took a closer look. He did not see the red reflex in Tyler's left eye, which is what gives you red eye in pictures, so he sent him right over to an eye doctor to get it looked at further. She looked in his eyes and saw a tumor in his left eye and made an appointment at Wills Eye Institute the next morning.

So bright and early Tuesday morning they headed to Philly for Tyler's appointment with Dr. Shields, an ocular oncologist who sees people from all over the world. She looked at his eyes for about 10 minutes, as the doctors were holding him on the chair and looking in his eyes while he was crying the entire time. She then said  that Tyler has bilateral Retinoblastoma, with a tumor the size of a pencil point in his right eye and a tumor the size of a lima bean in his left. She told them that our course of action will be 6 months of chemo to reduce the size of the tumors and laser surgery to remove the left over scar tissue. Over the past several months Tyler completed chemo and multiple procedures to eliminate new seeds that have developed. This past week his mommy and daddy took him for a follow up appointment and were given the following news; 


"Dr. Shields came back about half an hour after we'd been sitting in recovery and gave us the news. She started with his right eye saying how perfect it was and that he hadn't had any treatment since January. Then she went on to the left. She showed us the picture of his eye that they always draw to illustrate what they are seeing in there. There were a lot of green spots this time and she explained these were vitreous seeds, different from the orange seeds we are used to seeing in the illustrations. She explained that these green seeds (I'll call them) were harder to get to and therefore harder to treat. She advised us that the course of action she thinks we should take is enucleation. I asked her if she would remove the eye if it was her child and she said yes I would do it tomorrow, so there was our answer"



What does enucleation entail? Tyler's surgery took about an hour and a half and then he was in recovery. He'll have a big bandage over his eye for a week at which point we will take it off. They'll have an ointment to put on the eye for the next 3 weeks and then 2 weeks of nothing. Then 6 weeks after the eye is removed he will get a prosthesis.

 

Lindsey and Bill have started Tyler's Troops and have raised thousands and thousands of dollars over  the past 15 months for Retinoblastoma research and have never accepted money for themselves or for Tyler's care. Now however they are about to incur an enormous expense in order to provide little Tyler with his prosthesis which is only partially covered by medical insurance.  So, as friends of the Barnett family we are asking for everyone to say a prayer for Tyler and his family and reach into your wallet and donate from your heart to help this adorable little boy.


http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/TylersTroops/  Or follow his story: www.caringbridge.org/visit/tb120810

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Donations 

  • Connie & Andy Corrigan
    • $25 
    • 12 yrs
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Organizer

Ken Amorosi
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