A little girl named Caydan was finally able to see properly for the first time after her parents brought her a special type of glasses.
Most of us take a lot of things for granted, for example, our abilities to talk, hear and see things. Imagine being visually challenged from birth, just like this little girl named Caydan, whose mom Michelle has documented a special moment on her TikTok page @mishyz. According to the overlay texts on a viral video featuring Caydan, the little girl is said to have a rare condition called achromatopsia.
The heartfelt caption of the viral video read, "Caydan was recently diagnosed with achromatopsia, which means that she has low vision, is sensitive to the light, especially the sunlight, and has complete color blindness. Eric and I are so blessed to be her parents. Not sure how an 18-month-old can exude such confidence, courage, determination, happiness, and love, but she does. Thank you to everyone who has helped us process the news of her diagnosis. We are so lucky to be educators and be informed on how to support Cay when she is school-aged. We are ready to guide her on her journey."
According to the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, achromatopsia "affects approximately one in 30,000 live births." It is caused by a disorder of the genes and is more common in some geographic locations. While there is no cure, there are things that can make life with achromatopsia easier, like glasses and aids that help one see color. Children with achromatopsia have reduced vision (typically 20/200 or less), no color vision (they perceive only black, white and gray shades), sensitivity to light (photophobia) and the presence of nystagmus (shaking of the eyes). Achromatopsia is sometimes called "Day Blindness," as these children see better in subdued light.
But people were delighted to see little Caydan receive a memorable gift from her parents, which is a special set of glasses that will allow her to see colors and the faces of people around her for the first time. In the video, we see Michelle strapping the special glasses on Caydan and then taking a step back to look at her surroundings. Little Caydan immediately breaks into an adorable squeal of joy, starts bouncing up and down in her seat and claps happily.
The wholesome reaction touched the hearts of people who came across this video. @bugginout1 wrote, "My co-worker has achromatopsia and wears the same lenses! Our whole department agreed years ago to take the light bulbs out of the fixtures." @coastalequinehoofcare commented, "Our baby has bilateral hearing loss and it was so amazing when she had her hearing aids fitted & could hear us clearly! This is so precious!" A lot of individuals enquired how doctors figured out that Caydan has colorblindness since she is so young.
Michelle replied in the comment and wrote, "They had to perform a diagnostic test called an electroretinography that measures the electrical activity of the retina in response to light signals." @garlicnbutter added, "Omg, she's so thrilled! This must have been so difficult for you all over the last 18 months and she's such a happy baby, I can really feel the love." Caydan might not be able to see colors without her special glasses and has low vision and light sensitivity, she is still living her best life. "Despite challenges with her vision, Caydan amazes us every day with how expressive she is and how she adapts and uses her other senses to navigate her world," her mom further wrote in the caption.
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