A lot of people, myself included, associate optometrist visits with glasses and vision and that’s it. But the American Academy of Ophthalmology states that a trip to an eye doctor can be far more beneficial than that. In fact, there are about 20 different conditions they can diagnose or uncover via an eye exam, as eyes are often the first sign that disease is hiding elsewhere in the body. Heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and brain tumors are all often uncovered via an eye exam, and for 8-year-old Annabeth Baah, a routine exam ended up saving her life.
Annabeth’s father, Kwabena Baah, had taken her to the pediatrician for her regular checkup when the doctor suggested she get an eye exam to see if she needed glasses. The dad took her that afternoon to Visionworks in Poughkeepsie, New York, and she was seen by optometrist Jeffrey Cohen. Though she didn’t need glasses, Cohen saw her left optic nerve was very swollen.
“The eye doctor just took one look and immediately said, ‘Hey, you guys have to go to the emergency room,'” Kwabena told People during an exclusive interview. “He said, ‘You have to go tonight.’ He was very insistent.”
The family spent five hours at the ER in Poughkeepsie, but they were ultimately sent home and told to see a neurologist. Cohen called the family the next day and was shocked Annabeth hadn’t been admitted. He recommended the family take her to Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital in Westchester because of its ophthalmology department.
After she was admitted and doctors ran tests, they discovered Annabeth had a brain tumor and recommended she get surgery the next day. The Baahs were utterly baffled as she had no noticeable symptoms of a tumor. Mavis Baah, Annabeth’s mother, told the outlet her younger sister, who is a physician, told them to get a second opinion because she appeared so healthy. The second opinion ended up confirming the worst: She did have a tumor.
Luckily, she had surgery for doctors to remove a craniopharyngioma, a large but benign brain tumor, the next day. Without surgery, Annabeth’s tumor could have grown so much that it would have created pressure in her brain and she could have lost her vision. All in all, the routine eye exam saved her life.
Doctors were beyond flummoxed that it was even caught. “They kept on asking, ‘How did you find this?’ ” her mom shared. “It’s just a miracle.”
Cohen visited her in the hospital days after her surgery. “To my delight, I walked into the room of this young 8-year-old girl who was dancing, and she was joyful,” he told the magazine. “You would never have known that she had brain surgery. It was really heartwarming.”
Though the tumor was benign, doctors weren’t able to get it all and had the girl go through six weeks of proton therapy to shrink it. Now Annabeth is back to her normal routine.
“If we tell you this kid had a major brain surgery, you won’t believe it,” Mavis Baah stated to People.
The family hopes sharing their story reminds parents about how important routine checkups are, especially for eyes given that people don’t tend to go until there is a need.
“Please don’t wait for the symptoms,” Mavis Baah added. “I did not know that a simple eye check could actually detect a lot of things. I wouldn’t have believed it if it had not happened to my daughter.
