Parents Welcome Baby Boy, 3 Months Later Realize Something Is Wrong
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A woman has revisited the moment she began to suspect something wasn't right with her newborn son and the emotional journey that followed as she sought to find answers.
Carli Cowie from Moray in Scotland, took to her TikTok account, Carlirose33, to share pictures of Noah from when he was born on November 3, 2018 and in the blissful days that followed.
"The best day of my life," Cowie wrote alongside the images. "I couldn't stop staring at him. I couldn't believe this beautiful baby was ours. Our hearts were so full of love."
By the time Noah's six-week check-up rolled around, everything seemed to be on track. "He was hitting milestones," Cowie said. But by 12 weeks, Cowie and her husband had started to notice "something wasn't right."
Cowie told Newsweek: "He wasn't making eye contact with us, wasn't following toys and his eyes were wobbling."
Carli first noticed an issue with Noah's eyes when he was just 12 weeks old.
Carli first noticed an issue with Noah's eyes when he was just 12 weeks old.
TikTok/carlirose33
They made an appointment for Noah to see their doctor, who then referred them on to an ophthalmologist. At this point, there were concerns Noah could have retinoblastoma, a rare type of cancer affecting the retina.
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In order to find out if this was the case, doctors needed to dilate his pupils to check. All this time, Cowie and her husband were left facing an anxious wait for answers. "We were so worried and didn't know what the outcome was going to be," she said.
She estimates it took three months from that initial doctor's appointment, for them to get an understanding of Noah's condition.
Doctors suspected Noah had been born with optic nerve hypoplasia, meaning his optic nerves were under-developed. The "wobbling" movement his eyes made was also thought to be a result of nystagmus, an involuntary eye movement condition that further reduces or limits vision.
A delayed MRI scan eventually confirmed the heartbreaking diagnosis: Noah was blind. His parents were left in shock at the news. "We were devastated and in disbelief that this was happening to our baby," Cowie said. "We initially thought it wouldn't be something as serious as what it was, we thought he'd maybe need glasses or something along those lines."
Though Cowie was rocked by the news, she managed to stay strong, with the support of her husband and family, knowing it was important to maintain a happy household for Noah's sake. "I didn't want Noah to pick up if we were upset so I always tried to be in high spirits for him," she said. "Although he was blind I kept reminding myself that he was healthy and we were grateful for that."
Noah underwent regular check-ups in the years that followed with doctors careful to monitor that his weight and height was within the normal range. "If the tests weren't in normal range he would have been put on growth hormone injections until he was 18," Cowie said.
Thankfully, for Noah, that wasn't needed and by the time he turned 4, he was fully discharged and ready to his way as a blind child out in the world. He's not alone in that respect. In the U.S., the CDC estimates nearly 3 percent of children under the age of 18 have blindness or vision impairment.
Noah Cowie is 6 and thriving now.
Noah Cowie is 6 and thriving now.
TikTok/carlirose33
It's a life that comes with its own unique challenges for his mom and dad. "One of the biggest I would say is his safety and making sure there is nothing in his way or lying out for him to trip over or bump into," Cowie said.
But it is one that Noah, now 6, is thriving in, with a little help from mom, dad and his two-year-old sister Ocean. "He's doing really well. Noah is always keen to try new things and we are amazed with how well he gets on," Callie said. "He's a clever boy and enjoys learning. He's at the early stages of learning braille and learning to use his cane with support."
Callie's TikTok video, chronicling their journey with Noah went viral, amassing over 640,000 views since being posted earlier this month. She's incredibly proud of her son and hopes this video and others like it help any families who may be going through similar situations with a young child.
Noah's story isn't one of heartbreak, it's one of hope. "I wanted to show everyone how amazing he is," Callie said. "Being blind hasn't stopped him from doing anything."
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