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I have
written this letter to urge you to please help me get “Joey’s Bill”,(HB1117,
SB2062) to the floor this session. Please realize the vital importance of
this bill to the health and welfare of the children of our state. My
grandson, Joey, DIED a year ago only because we do not do this simple eye
exam. (www.lovejoey.com)
Joey's experience has alerted us to the urgency of infant eye screening.
One in every 12,000 children in our country is affected by retinoblastoma.
When detected in the early stages, the eye and the vision of the child are
saved…life is not threatened. When it is not detected and allowed to escape
the eye and become metastatic retinoblastoma, there is no cure. Ronald M.
Berkman, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Health and Urban Affairs at Florida
International University, states that, “One child in every 677 live births
is affected with a treatable eye disease or anomaly that will cause
blindness unless detected early.” Cataracts are ten times more prevelant in
newborns than retinoblastoma and will blind as early as two months if not
treated. These three eye dilation exams; before they leave the
hospital, the 6 to 9 month exam and the 18 month exam will detect these
treatable eye diseases before they can blind and kill our children. The
eye drops cost pennies. All nurses know how to apply eye drops. All of our
health care professionals have ophthalmoscopes and know how to use them. We
are not asking them to do anything that they do not already do. The eye
drops
are essential to the ophthalmoscope in infancy...the retina cannot be seen
without them.
Everyday that we do not do infant eye screening, we are putting more
children at risk. I hear from people everyday telling me one horror after
another. February 12, a 26 month old child had his eye removed to
retinoblastoma. It had changed color and the parents took him to the eye
doctor...he was rushed to Bascom Palmer for an eye enucleation. This sounds
like Joey, we have to pray. Where was the ophthalmoscope at his 24, 18, 15
month exam. Jeanette Klatt of Port St. Lucie contacted me to tell me her 15
month old granddaughter had an eye removed…the pathology recently came back
clean. Where was the ophthalmoscope at her one year
exam? Another grandmother from Massachusetts that was staying on Singer
Island, Mary Kelly, called me to say her 2 1/2 year old grandson just had an
eye removed and they were waiting for the pathology. Doug McGlone,
of Lantana, contacted me about his 14 month old daughter that was almost
blinded by a cataract. He noticed something wrong with her eye at 7 months
and took her to the eye doctor. Where was the ophthalmoscope at her 6 or 4
month exam. A 3 month old girl in Kentucky was diagnosed as totally blind
for life from cataracts. This exam that just takes a moment of time and
costs pennies would have saved her vision. Friday, March 1, a two month old
infant had BOTH eyes removed to retinoblastoma. This eye dilation exam could
have saved his eyes and vision.
Judy
Park of Boca Raton lost an eye to retinoblastoma 63 years ago. Heather Harne
of Orlando is a 28 year old bilateral retinoblastoma survivor...one eye
enucleated and is legally blind in the other. Mathew Matillo of
Tallahassee is a 14 year old retinoblastoma survivor...Eight year old Max
Shector of Broward had both eyes enucleated. Joey died a year ago. How
many more generations of our children have to go blind, loose eyes or die
because we do not take a moment to put in eyedrops and look with the
ophthalmoscope. The ophthalmoscope needs to be used at EVERY exam
throughout childhood. All of these toddlers eyes, including Joey’s, would
have been saved had we just done that!!!!!
Dr.
Laura Mabie of LaCanada California has been doing the eye dilation exam in
her office for eight years. “My medical assistants place the dilating drops
into the infant’s eyes while the baby is being weighed. The physician then
proceeds with the regular exam, and does the ophthalmoscopic exam at the
end. The “extra” exam takes less than ten seconds. The babies suffer no
side effects. They are not held down in any way. Often the exam is done
while the baby is in its mother’s arms. This exam is simple, easy, cheap,
and very cost effective.”
We are
not asking them to do anything that they are not already doing. Just add
the eye drops so the ophthalmoscope can see the retina of the infant.
Timothy
G. Murray, M.D., F.A.C.S., Associate Professor/Ophthalmology, Director
Ocular Oncology Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami-School of
Medicine states, “We suggest that dilation of pupils at birth, the 6-8 week
baby exam and future well-baby exams would significantly decrease the delay
in recognition of a variety of ocular disorders that are both sight and life
threatening.”
There
are so many things in our lives we cannot control. This we can fix. We
need to do this for the children of our state. There is NO reason not to.
Please help me! Joey was here to be the last to die. His message is
powerful...please listen. Every child born has the right to healthy vision
and life. This legislation will ensure that right. It will cost pennies and
save our state millions of dollars. We have an opportunity to be the first
state to take care of our children's vision. Once we do this we can make it
a national standard and no child in our country will go blind or die to a
treatable eye disease again. Joey should be alive. Do not let this happen
again. We needed this legislation years ago.
Thank
you for your attention. I will pray that you, the Florida Legislators, have
the courage and wisdom to do what is right for our children.
Bless
You,
Pam
Bergsma
619 South K St.
Lake Worth, Fl. 33460
561-586-2094
www.lovejoey.com
lovejoey@bellsouth.net
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