How my boy’s eye ‘wobbling’ ended up being a BRAIN TUMOUR: Mother shares shock symptom that left her 11-year-old visually impaired
When Zac Eckworth’s eye started to “wiggle,” his parents never expected doctors to blame a brain tumor.
Yet that is exactly what happened when he was only 14 months old.
More than a decade later, karate-loving Zac, now 11, is still battling the slow-growing masses.
Zac, visually impaired from his optic nerve glioma, is currently enrolled in a trial of a “life-changing” drug, which he has been taking since he was five.
His mother Miriam, from Basingstoke, praises the drug for ‘giving him the chance to lead a relatively normal life’.
Zac Eckworth, from Hampshire, has been battling cancer for ten years after his parents noticed his eye was wobbly and rushed him to hospital when he was just 14 months old
The now 11-year-old was diagnosed with an optic nerve glioma, a type of brain tumor, and has been in and out of hospital ever since
Zac “couldn’t be a kid” growing up as he had to undergo grueling chemotherapy while his peers played.
Doctors hope dabrafenib, the drug Zac is taking, can keep his tumor at bay.
They’ll check to see if the mass — located on the nerve that connects the eye to the brain — responds once treatment stops in the next few years.
Discussing her son’s struggles, Miriam, 46, said: “It was hard for Zac, and it was hard for us to see that he couldn’t be a kid.”
But she said he has a good quality of life, which allows him to “recover emotionally from what he’s been through.”
His parents remembered his symptoms and said they noticed his eye “wiggling.”
Miriam and her husband, Colin, took Zac straight to the doctor.
Zac was referred to specialists at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and has undergone several rounds of chemotherapy
Zac is significantly visually impaired as a result of his brain tumor – he suffered from hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluid in the brain
He was referred to an eye clinic, where he was then sent straight to Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow for an MRI scan.
After an overnight stay in the hospital, medics then diagnosed Zac with an optic nerve glioma.
The masses make up about 5 percent of all childhood brain tumors, data suggests.
Early symptoms affect vision given the tumor’s location in the brain. Children with the tumor may have squinting, double vision, blind spots, or a tilted head. Others may get “flickering eyes,” like Zac.
A week after his diagnosis, Zac was referred to specialists at Great Ormond Street Hospital. There he underwent several rounds of chemotherapy.
Tests showed that it remained stable after the first batch.
But after nine months it continued to grow and Zac had to undergo more chemotherapy.
Zac’s parents say his quality of life hasn’t diminished despite his battle with cancer and his visual impairment – he has several hobbies and even has a black belt in karate
Zac is now doing a drug trial with Dabrafenib, a cancer drug. His mother Miriam says the treatment has given them more quality time as a family
Miriam, who works as a dog behaviourist, said: ‘This has been a very difficult time for the family.
“Our daughter had also just been born and we knew the difficulties chemotherapy would entail for Zac.
Doctors eventually discovered that Zac’s tumor carried a mutation that made him a candidate for dabrafenib, an experimental drug.
It works by targeting certain proteins made by the genetic idiosyncrasy that promote the growth of masses, effectively preventing it from increasing in size.
Zac responded well to the treatment, which his mother described as “life-changing.”
Miriam said, “It’s given Zac the chance to live a relatively normal life.
“We are grateful for research that allows Zac to do so many things as 11-year-old boys.”
However, his tumor does not stop him.
Nearly black belted in karate, he plays the keyboard, enjoys DJing and playing video games in his spare time. He also enjoys playing target ball – a sport for the visually impaired.
His school supports him a lot, he learns braille and they provide him with large print.