Heartwarming moment partially-blind toddler sees her family for the first time

One-year-old Caydan Ziemba, has achromatopsia, a rare condition that makes it extremely difficult to see.

This is the incredible moment a partially blind toddler looks at her family for the first time after she was given special spectacles.

One-year-old Caydan Ziemba, has achromatopsia, a rare condition that makes it extremely difficult to see, with her eyes naturally not able to separate out colours and shades.

But now, thanks to special, red-tinted glasses, which help correct the issue, Caydan can see in much more detail, being able to clearly recognise her family for the first time.

Mum, Michelle Ziemba, 31, from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, US, said: ‘It was like a really exciting moment for us and for her because we were all there together, as a family.

‘It feels more like she’s experiencing a normal childhood right now and that makes us happy every day.’

When Caydan was just three months old, mum and dad noticed that there was something wrong with her vision, due to the lack of reaction to objects or people, just mere inches away.

After working with their paediatrician, Michelle and dad, Eric Ziemba, 32, decided to take Caydan to see an ophthalmologist, an eye specialist, at Boston’s Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, US, who suspected that there may be an issue with her retinas.

Then, once the toddler began going to nursery, she found it difficult to be comfortable as Michelle believed that she could not see the surrounding environment.

This September, Caydan underwent an electroretinogram (ERG) test which uses flashes of light to test the activity in the retina, which determined that there was no function in any of the ‘cones’, which is responsible for colour vision, in her eyes.

From the ERG test, Caydan was diagnosed with Nystagmus, a condition that causes repetitive and involuntary movement in the eyes which can cause blurry vision.

Caydan is colour blind, meaning she can only see white and grey shades and her eyes are very sensitive to light, which all led to the rare diagnosis of achromatopsia.

Mum and dad then worked with the hospital and their local optician, to fit some red-tinted lenses which help filter out some of the light and create a more defined colour contrast in everything that she sees.

Now, with the red corrective lenses, Caydan is able to be more comfortable with her surroundings and those around her.

For mum, Michelle, teacher, the difference was immediately noticeable, and she says that Caydan is much happier.

She said: ‘It was really emotional for us.

‘For her to get her glasses, be so excited and happy and have a new confidence about her, she is a confident little girl in general, but for her to just now feel just so comfortable in all of her environments, makes it a little bit easier for us.

‘With her glasses, you can tell the difference. If she’s sitting at the table, and she hears the door open and someone comes in, now she’s able to see who they are right away, which she wasn’t able to before.

‘At about a year, she started eating food more independently. That was a struggle for her because of the color blindness. So being able to tell what something is, was a little bit harder for her. Now with the glasses, she’s able to see the food in front of her face a little bit better.

‘Surprisingly, her vision has not been a barrier to her capacity to learn. It has been a little bit of a barrier for her adaptive skills like using utensils and a little bit of her coordination and balance and some more motor skills.

‘In terms of her learning and her intellect, she actually has been thriving regardless of her diagnosis. So that’s something that has been really exciting for us to see.’

Dad, Eric, also a teacher, appreciates all of the helpful comments that they have found since sharing their story online and he hopes that Caydan will continue to progress, as he said: ‘We’ve just been so excited and blessed by the overall support from everybody.

‘It’s been a learning experience for us. People who have had children with similar conditions, or themselves, have given us some tips through things like TikTok.

‘We still really want her to be more comfortable outside because we love the outdoors. That’s a kind of work in progress.’

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