'Looking into my baby's eyes saved his sight'

Mum-of-two Rachael tells new why noticing white flecks in the centre of her newborn son’s pupils was the start of a worrying journey that could have led to him going blind

- ANN CUSACK

Rachael Fleming, 38, lives in Ellesmere Port on the Wirral with daughter Liliana, two, and son Leonard, 15 months. Trusting her ‘mother’s instinct’ about baby Lennie led to the shocking discovery that he had cataracts.

There it was again. Leaning over Lennie’s cot, I noticed a little white fleck, right in the centre of his pupil. I was mystified. Was it a trick of the light? But as the days passed, it seemed to get a little bigger.

“Maybe I’m just worrying about nothing,” I tried to tell myself, as I scooped him up for a cuddle.

Lennie had passed his routine six-week check without a problem, and the doctors and health visitors all declared he was perfectly healthy. Nobody had any concerns.

He was my second child and my pregnancy had been difficult. I had undiagnosed gestational diabetes and my bump was really big. I could hardly walk, and by the time he was born, in January 2022, he weighed a whopping 11lbs.

Lennie was a big, bouncing, healthy baby! But back home, I couldn’t shake my concern about those white specks. Then he began having what seemed to be reflux attacks. Every now and then, he hunched his shoulders and brought his knees up, as though he had stomach pain or indigestion. I described the attacks to the GP, who agreed it was reflux and prescribed medication.

But the attacks continued. They seemed to come in clusters and Lennie would open his mouth wide and scream. It was obvious he was in pain, and I felt so helpless.

The doctor upped his dosage but the attacks continued. Deep down, I felt there was something more seriously wrong with my son. This just didn’t add up.