Baby's devastating diagnosis after mum spots 'white glow' in his eye

Baby's devastating diagnosis after mum spots 'white glow' in his eye Olivia Hannaford's son, Oliver, was only four and a half months old when they noticed something strange happening to his eye A mum who noticed her son's right eye was not "focusing" like his left found out it was a sign of a rare and deadly illness. Olivia Hannaford, 30, noticed her four-and-a-half-month-old son Oliver's right eye wasn't focusing but thought it was "just off" centre and he might need glasses. But when she noticed a white glow in his eye while giving him his bottle doctors told her to bring him to hospital. After several tests, including a sight test, Oliver was diagnosed with retinoblastoma – a rare form of eye cancer. He underwent four rounds of intra-arterial chemotherapy – where drugs are delivered directly into the artery supplying the eye – alongside laser treatment. More than a year on, Oliver, now one, has completed his final round of chemotherapy and will undergo one final laser treatment before having an examination under anaesthetic (EUA) to see how the tumour has responded. Olivia, a former beautician from Liverpool, said: "When Oliver was around four and a half months old, I noticed his right eye wasn’t focusing the same as his left. "I only noticed this at certain times of the day - early in the morning, not long after waking up, or when he was starting to become tired. I just thought that with him being four and a half months old, his eyes were just adjusting. "But when it kept happening, I thought he would need some glasses to correct the slight turn in his eye. His dad and I had never heard of retinoblastoma before; we didn't know you could get tumours in the eye." After noticing that his right eye was not focusing like his left, Olivia contacted the health visitor, who said she did not think it was anything urgent, but would put Oliver through for a referral. But Olivia then noticed the glow in her son's eye on July 10, 2025 and rang her partner Thomas Furnival, 29. "He was lying propped up facing upwards towards me in bed," Olivia said. "He looked to his right towards the window when I saw the glow in his eye. I honestly thought I was going crazy. I tried taking as many pictures and videos as I could, screenshotting them. It was so hard trying to capture it in photos of a baby who had just turned five months old. I rang Tom, who was at work, and sent him the pictures. I showed my mum and we all agreed to ring the hospital.” Olivia called Alder Hey Hospital, where a specialist asked her to send the photos over to the team. She immediately got a call back and was asked to bring Oliver in that same day. Olivia said: "My heart was beating out of my chest. We went in for a sight test. Oliver was doing so well. The ophthalmologist asked me to place my hand over Oliver’s right eye, and he was still following all of the lights, flashing cards and black and white lines perfectly. "She then asked me to place my hand over his left eye. Suddenly, he was so distressed, shaking his head, trying to move my hand. I looked at Tom and said, ‘I really think there is something wrong'.” Doctors told Olivia and Tom that they suspected that Oliver had a retinoblastoma, and that it was treatable with chemotherapy. Oliver was then transferred to Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital where they confirmed the diagnosis. “The doctor came in and asked us to explain what we had been noticing with Oliver’s eye," Olivia said. "After we had finished explaining, the doctor said, ‘I’m so sorry to be the one to tell you this, but your son has suspected retinoblastoma.’ Tom and I probably just stared, confused. "She followed with, ‘he has a cancerous tumour in his eye.’ The word cancer- how do you even wrap your head around it, especially for a baby? We were both crying hysterically. Straight away I honestly thought our son was going to die.” A week after his diagnosis was confirmed by doctors in Birmingham, Oliver started four rounds of intra-arterial chemotherapy alongside ongoing laser treatment. Oliver's chemotherapy treatment ended on October 27, 2025 He is about to undergo his final laser treatment and will need to have an EUA every six weeks to monitor his condition. Despite everything he has been through, a year on, Olivia said Oliver is "thriving". She added, “We can honestly say a year on from his diagnosis, life is as perfect as we’d planned from the second we found out we were pregnant. "Oliver really is the funniest baby, he’s obsessed with flowers at the minute and smelling them, with the funniest little scrunch face when doing so. "He loves shouting for his dad from the second he opens his eyes until he goes to sleep. Oliver really is just a happy little 18-month-old, living his life exactly how he should be. Nothing holds him back.” The Childhood Eye Cancer Trust is urging parents and healthcare professionals to be aware of the most common possible symptoms of eye cancer – a white glow in the eye, which may appear in a flash photo or in certain lighting, and a squint. Richard added: “Oliver’s story shows the importance of retinoblastoma awareness among health professionals. "We are grateful that Oliver’s diagnosis was confirmed and that he was able to receive treatment. If you’re worried that your child may have retinoblastoma, please take them to a GP or optician as soon as possible. "You can also contact the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust support team at [email protected] – they can provide information to take to your appointment. "The Child Cancer Smart campaign advises health professionals to refer to the local on-call paediatrician if a child has had three persistent symptoms, has visited their health professional three times or had unexplained symptoms for three weeks.”