The internet f*cking rocks

An internet forum may have saved this beautiful baby's life.

See the discoloration in her left eye? That's caused by retinoblastoma, a deadly and devastating childhood cancer. Her mom was concerned about the discoloration and posted this picture to an internet discussion group she had joined, where another mom recognized it as a possible sign of cancer.

"When 32-year-old Megan Santos of Riverview, Fla., noticed that one of her baby daughter's eyes was a slightly different color than the other, her intuition told her that something was wrong.

Concerned, Santos posted a picture of 1-year-old Rowan Santos on the online pregnancy community BabyFit.com, of which she is a member. The picture clearly showed a hazy, white glow in Rowan's left eye -- an atypical reflection of the camera flash not seen in the infant's other eye.

She soon received a message from Madeleine Robb, another 32-year-old mother living in Stretford, the United Kingdom, encouraging her to ask her doctor about a rare but serious cancer that can bring about such a color difference.

Santos followed Robb's advice. And as it turned out, Santos' post may have well saved her child's life.

"After I put the picture up, she saw it, and she sent me a private e-mail in which she said that Rowan might have retinoblastoma in her left eye," Santos said. "She said, 'Not to worry you, but I think you should look at this Web site.'"

The Web site detailed the condition known as retinoblastoma -- a potentially deadly form of childhood cancer that can affect one or both eyes. Immediately, Santos contacted her doctor. She saw him the next day, on the morning of Aug. 8, and he, in turn, referred her to ophthalmology and cancer specialists.

A battery of scans and other tests revealed that Rowan did, in fact, have a cancerous tumor growing on the retina of her left eye.

"Her prognosis is good, as far as the doctor can tell," Santos said. "[The cancer] had not yet reached her optic nerve, which would have then brought it directly to her brain."

Amazing. It never ceases to amaze me how the interwebtubes bring us close together in ways we would never have imagined before.

If you're so inclined, say a prayer for Rowan, for healing and a happy, healthy long cancer-free life.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 11:16 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 385 words, total size 3 kb.

More Dr. Horrible Goodies

For the musically inclined and for ringtone junkies....

Lots of synth mp3s, suitable for making ringtones here.

Sheet music to Perfect Story and Bad Horse (and mp3 of the Bad Horse ringtone) here.

More fun Dr. Horrible stuff as I find it!

Posted by: caltechgirl at 07:45 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 47 words, total size 1 kb.