and is a baby boy that was born without eyes
to a family in Arizona.
According to his mother, Kelly Lopez, she had
a completely normal pregnancy. Her
ultrasounds never hinted her son would be
born without eyes. However, hours after
Richie's birth at Banner Desert Medical Center
in Mesa, Lopez became concerned when her
son still had not opened his eyes.
The staff, at first, thought his face was simply
swollen from birth. Thirteen days later, his
mother says
an MRI showed Richie did not have eyes.
"I think we were just in shock. Obviously very
upsetting," she told 3TV. "The first thought
through your mind is, how did this even
happen and how was it not even caught?"
The family still has no answers, and various
doctors have said that the condition is
extremely rare.
At seven weeks, Richie had expanders placed
in his eye sockets, which are designed to allow
the socket to grow and one day be able to hold
a prosthetic eyeball. They were held in with
sutures, but during feedings and burpings,
Richie managed to rub them both out.
One was lost and presumably eaten by the
family dog. Lopez found the other, and while
on the phone with a surgeon at 2 a.m., she was
able to re-insert it.
"It was so emotional, but I knew I had to do it.
I knew that he needed this and I had no other
choice; we were going to get it back in," Lopez
recalled.
The family members quickly developed a
positive attitude, but they are still learning to
deal with insensitive comments from people
in public. Richie now wears a pair of baby
sunglasses.
Doctors told the family Richie does have an
optic nerve, which keeps hope alive about him
being able to see one day.
"That would be amazing," his mother said. "I
do hope that one day that they'll be able to
either grow an eye or transplant an eye."
Richie is already enrolled in developmental
programs designed for blind babies and plays
with specially designed toys. The family is
determined to see him live a life that is
challenging but full.
Photo credit - AzFamily.com
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