Future bright as baby’s eyesight saved

When he was born, Blake Chew-Poyntz’s parents feared he may never be able to fully enjoy the sights of the world.

But now the future looks bright for the four-month old after surgeons saved his sight with an operation more usually associated with the elderly. Blake was born at Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital and quickly it emerged he had cataracts in both eyes.

He was sent to Birmingham Children’s Hospital and underwent two half-hour operations in June where surgeons removed the cataracts and inserted contact lenses.

Victoria, aged 20, remembers seeing the images taken by medics of Blake’s eyes. 

She said today: “There was what looked like a frost in his eye. I was just shocked really because we’d never heard of a baby with this condition. We thought he was going to be blind.”

The couple, of Griffiths Drive, Ashmore Park, were told by Birmingham Children’s Hospital that it had dealt with only 115 similar cases in around 15 years.

Victoria said: “They said it was a pretty straight-forward operation. It’s just a slit in the corner of the eye and then they suck the cataract out, just the same as in an older person.”

“At first the contact lenses were really irritating him but he’s doing really well now,” she added.

Victoria and her partner Ellis Poyntz, 20, have been taught how to take the contact lenses out, cleanse them overnight and put them back in.

The couple are now waiting for Blake to develop speech so he can tell his parents how good his vision is before doctors will decide if he needs future treatment.

Victoria said: “He’s just a few steps behind other babies of his age. 

“He’s just starting to reach out for things where others would have done it a few weeks earlier.

“They say he might have a slight squint, but they can fix that up eventually. Blake’s brilliant. He’s a bit grumpy as he’s got some teeth coming through, other than that he’s really happy.”

And she thanked the medics at Birmingham Children’s Hospital for the way they looked after her son, adding: “They were brilliant, absolutely lovely.”