A baby’s “beautiful big blue eyes” which have been complimented by everybody – turned out to be a symptom of a condition causing blindness.

Louise Bice, 34, was shocked when her daughter, Aretria, was born with large blue eyes – a trait no person else within the household had.

Her “beautiful” eyes would see the tot complimented “six or seven times every day” by strangers – which Louise liked.

But at six months outdated, in May 2023, one of Aretria’s child blue eyes turned “milky” and any mild triggered the tot to scream in ache.

Louise and her associate, Connor Bice, 29, a chartered accountant, thought their youngest daughter may need hit her eye with a toy.

But the household have been instructed Aretria – now 10 months outdated – had a extreme case of bilateral congenital glaucoma, a genetic abnormality which noticed excessive and rising strain on the optic nerve.

Her much-loved large eyes really required pressing surgical procedure.

Tiny Aretria had a four-hour operation at Birmingham Children’s Hospital in June to relieve the strain – however follow-up assessments confirmed it had failed.

She had a second surgical procedure in August and her mother and father are awaiting the outcomes – though the tot has misplaced nearly 100 per cent of her imaginative and prescient in a single eye already.

Mum Louise needs to warn different mother and father to search for the signs – and to not assume large eyes are “beautiful” once they might be a signal of one thing extra severe.

Louise, a stay-at-home mum, from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, stated: “I never expected Ari’s big, beautiful eyes to be a bad thing.

“Suddenly one day her eye clouded over – one minute it was fine and 15 minutes later it was completely changed.

“Specialists had to do horrific tests on her and I learned she had already lost some vision in both eyes.

“After two surgeries we still don’t know what will happen – she already has just five per cent vision left in her right eye.

“She’s in so much pain and I don’t know if she can cope with another surgery.

“I just think if we had managed to get this diagnosed before the pressure got out of control, she might not now be blind in one eye.

“If someone had said it was weird, she had big eyes rather than cute we might have got it checked – but none of us knew it was even a red flag.”

After Aretria was born on October 20, 2022, her large eyes turned a supply of many compliments from family and friends.

Her mother and father even lovingly likened their toddler to a cartoon bug, pondering nothing of it.

Even medical doctors and well being guests thought they have been candy – and no person talked about any dangers.

But on May 20, Louise popped to the store and when she returned quarter-hour later one of her daughter’s eyes was clouded.

Louise stated: “Connor sent me a picture that morning of the two of them together while I was out and her eyes were fine.

“When I got back her right eye had clouded over.

“I hadn’t even got through the door when I said ‘we need to take her to A&E right now’.”

They went to their native hospital, King’s Mill, Mansfield, then have been despatched to Chesterfield Royal Hospital, Derbyshire, the place medical doctors recognized the excessive strain however couldn’t work out why it was occurring.

They have been then booked in to see specialists at Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, two days in a while May 22.

Aretria’s condition was lastly recognized – as bilateral congenital glaucoma – and even the specialists stated they’d solely seen a handful of circumstances.

Medics defined the little lady wanted surgical procedure however warned even then, she’d be left with little imaginative and prescient in her worst eye as a result of the harm had already been achieved.

Louise stated: “Doctors said she had been exposed to high eye pressure from birth because her fluid drainage system didn’t form properly in her eye when she was still in the womb.”

A surgical procedure was scheduled at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, West Midlands, for June 13 which noticed the tot go beneath the knife.

The four-hour process was adopted by a month of eye drops six instances a day in addition to having protecting eye shields taped onto her face for a week.

Louise stated: “We didn’t get any sleep for about a week after and hoped that would be the last of it.

“But two weeks later when we went back for her post-op, the pressure readings were even higher than before.

“The operation had failed – and she would need more surgery.”

A second operation was achieved on August 18 – and it was once more adopted by a gruelling restoration for the tot, who couldn’t perceive why any of it was occurring.

They’re nonetheless ready for official outcomes, however indicators to this point recommend the surgical procedure could have been unsuccessful for a second time.

Louise stated if that’s the case, medics will transfer on to a completely different sort of surgical procedure to launch the strain involving drainage tubes or valves.

She fears the tot “might not cope with another surgery” – however they could not have a selection.

While Aretria’s imaginative and prescient is just about gone in her proper eye, her left eye is compensating – though Louise and Connor concern the imaginative and prescient will worsen in her good eye too.

Louise needs to warn mother and father to look out for the signs – even when they won’t appear sinister.

She stated: “Before, she used to get compliments about her eyes six or seven times a day.

“Now I just feel really awkward when people say it.

“Aesthetically it might be, but having these big, beautiful eyes isn’t always a good thing.

“If we knew that before, she might not be blind in her right eye now.”