On March 15, 2011, our second child, Finley Ann Fears, was born. After Finley’s arrival, the nurses took her to the nursery so we could rest. We were in a peaceful bliss for about four hours until our pediatrician gave us the devastating news. Finley was blind.
We were in a peaceful bliss for about four hours until our pediatrician gave us the devastating news. Finley was blind.
He thought Finley had congenital glaucoma and that we needed to get her in to see a glaucoma specialist as soon as possible because she would probably need surgery right away. As you can imagine, our world had just been turned upside down. It seemed as though time stood still.
We left the hospital the next day and headed to Children’s Medical Center. Upon meeting with some of the best pediatric ophthalmologists in the nation at Children’s, we were told that Finley likely had one of many very scary syndromes and/or congenital anomalies. They told us that we should prepare ourselves for several surgeries and that our daughter would never see.
Over the next three years, Finley would go under anesthesia 17 times for surgeries and post-operative exams. Some were successful, and some were not. She was seen by doctors and surgeons over 125 times, endured multiple blood draws, X-rays, and too many eye drops to count. After all of that, Finley defied the odds and was blessed with sight in her left eye. She is now four-and-a-half-years-old and is running, playing, and living like any other four-and-a-half-year-old.
Although we were blessed to be surrounded by supportive family and friends, we still felt as though we were alone in our struggle because no one we knew had walked in our shoes before. That is why we have felt led by God to create fearlessHOPE as a platform for families to share their Love, Hope and Resources with other families in similar circumstances.