A mum has urged parents to watch out for a little-known sign which could save a life. Two-year-old George Walsh appeared to be happy and healthy as he enjoyed a family sunshine break.
But as he played during the trip to Tenerife his parents noticed something odd about his eye. It had developed a strange glare which looked orange in colour.
His mum, Victoria, mentioned it to her mother who was on holiday with them and she suggested they take a photograph with the flash on as she had heard it could show up some issues. She told her daughter if the glare was white this could be a sign of retinoblastoma - a rare type of eye cancer which can affect young children, reports the Liverpool Echo.
And when they took the photographs the results left them reeling. For what looked orange in daylight was clearly white on the picture.
Victoria, from Warrington, said: "We were on holiday and I had been noticing an orange glare in the naked eye, face to face. I said to my mum 'I keep seeing this glare in his eye do you think it is anything to worry about?'
"My mum said 'it is not white is it?' and I said I didn't know. She said 'take a picture with the flash on'. She only knew this because my auntie's, best friend's niece had retinoblastoma and she lost her eye.
"That was the only reason she was aware of it, but didn't fully know what to look out for. She knew it was something to do with a photograph. I started taking photographs and they showed white.
"Then you obviously Google - the worst thing you can do - and the next day my husband saw it while he was travelling down in a lift. He saw a white glare in George's eye."
The worried couple telephoned a family friend Jo Baren, who runs Jo Baren Eyewear, for advice. The 32-year-old added: "I asked if this was your child or as a friend what would you do? She said 'it could be the time of the essence you need to get home if we think it's what we think it is'."
George's parents caught a flight home the next day and went for a referral at the opticians. The toddler was then referred to Birmingham Children's Hospital and it was confirmed George had retinoblastoma.
Victoria said: "All within a week we found it and then [George was] diagnosed. They were absolutely brilliant, hats off to the NHS. She added: "It was huge shock, scary and you wish it wasn't them. But we were glad we found it and could treat it and hopefully he will be able to keep his eye."
George now needs laser treatment into his eye every four weeks, which could carry on for two years. He will also need regular scans as he grows to make sure the tumour is not changing or active.
Victoria described her son as "brilliant" and "a little trooper". She has now set up an Instagram page to document George's cancer journey to raise awareness of the signs of retinoblastoma. You can find it here.
