Moms juggle a lot at once. One of their favorite things, in many cases, is capturing photos of their precious little ones.
Jasmine Martin is one of those moms. The Knoxville, Tennessee, mom of five noticed a small glow in her youngest daughter's eye. Jasmine had been keeping an eye on something in Sariyah's eye for a few weeks. Most of the time, it was small and only noticeable at certain angles.
One July day, Jasmine noticed the spot was much more noticeable and larger. She decided to take a picture and share it to Facebook to ask others what they thought. Several people expressed concern that it could be cancerous.
Jasmine moved on the possibility quickly. She took her daughter to a pediatrician. The doctor assured Jasmine it was nothing, but her gut told her otherwise.
It would take weeks before an ophthalmologist could see Sariyah. Thankfully, Jasmine had a friend who worked at a hospital. She shared the photo with her friend, who shared it with a doctor. That's what began the journey toward the little girl's diagnosis with bilateral retinoblastoma. Jasmine shared that story with Good Morning America.
On July 30, Jasmine Martin was taking a good look at the youngest of her five children, Sariyah. She'd been keeping tabs on a small spot she sometimes noticed on her daughter's eye. That day, it was much larger and more noticeable.
"That day, it was like a moon," she told Good Morning America.
Jasmine wasn't sure what it could be. She shared a photo of Sariyah on Facebook to ask friends and family what they thought. It wasn't long before she received comments from concerned parties warning that it could be an indicator of cancer.
Jasmine immediately took her daughter to the pediatrician. The pediatrician reassured Jasmine that it was nothing, but that gnawing feeling in her gut was still there.
"I just had a feeling she needed to be seen. Her doctor got her in and said it was nothing serious. She said they'd just done an eye exam at her well check, but they did another one," Jasmine shared.
"She said her red reflexes were good, and Googled stuff on cloudy eyes. I still wasn't reassured, call it a mother's intuition I suppose. But she referred her to an ophthalmologist. However, she let me know it would take weeks if not longer. "
"The next part of the story is nothing short of a God story," Jasmine continued.
"A doctor/friend from work saw the photo I posted and messaged me. She reached out to an eye doctor and she wanted to see her immediately Monday(today). All weekend it felt like I was just holding my breath."
"She has a tumor in her eye, and there's a lot of seeds in the back," the doctor told Jasmine.
"It was like I was sitting outside of my body in that moment. The rest was a blur, and friends from work walked over and played with Riyah while I talked with the doctor.
"St. Jude's wants us there today, so we can meet with a doctor that specializes with retinoblastoma in the morning. She said I need to plan to stay for a week."
Sariyah was diagnosed with bilateral retinoblastoma. It's a rare form of cancer affecting about 250 to 300 children each year.
According to the St. Jude website, retinoblastoma "typically develops in children before 5 years of age. This cancer develops in the retina — the part of the eye that helps a person see color and light. Retinoblastoma may affect one or both eyes. In about two-thirds of all cases only one eye is affected."
After some testing to determine the severity of the tumor, doctors found that Sariyah still had vision in that eye, which was great news. However, it was broken up and there was a lot of seeding, which posed difficulties in treatment. They also found a small tumor in her other eye. Doctors gave the family a 75% chance at saving Sariyah's eyes.
The family then prepared for Sariyah to begin chemo.
"She will get one dose of chemo in her whole body just to make sure nothing has gotten into her body. The rest of the treatment will be injected near her right eye. It's classified in groups ranging from A to E being the worst. Her right eye is group d, and her left is an A," Jasmine explained on Instagram, where she kept family and friends updated.
"Her left eye will be treated w/ one laser treatment. For the right eye, she'll get 5 days worth of chemo for 5 months and then it goes down to 1 month for 6 months. In the midst of that, we will be getting weekly blood work and testing.
"Had we not ended up here when we did, both tumors could've spread and she'd be blind in both eyes and would've risked losing her too."
The ups and downs of Sariyah's illness have been difficult for Jasmine. It's hard to be away from her four older kids and hard to watch her 17-month-old battle cancer. Yet she tries to keep perspective in every moment.
"People keep telling me I am so strong, but I am not. And maybe that's the point. In my weakness God’s strength is shining through. Maybe when we are going through the storm God sends us people to stand with us. We can try and resist, but those are the ones willing to weather it with you offering an umbrella and grace…so much grace," she wrote.
The good news is that so far, the tumor is Sariyah's right eye is shrinking. Unfortunately, they're investigating a spot in her left eye.
"At this time they don’t know if it's a tumor or something else. As doctors they have to prepare us for everything including the worst case scenario, which is that it could put her at risk of vision loss in that eye," Jasmine shared.
"We are so early in this but EUA [Exam Under Anesthetia] days are mentally draining, because you just never know what they are going to find. It's hard and it's scary. If I allow myself to really think about it, if something happens to the good eye, then there's still so many risks with the right eye. It's a never ending battle of what ifs right now."
The Martins are asking for positivity and prayer as they navigate the next steps. They should have answers about Sariyah's left eye in a matter of days. In the meantime, you can help the Martins during this difficult time by contributing to their GoFundMe page.
