Mom saw one of her toddler’s eyes glow on the baby monitor after brushing it off as a lazy eye — then her worst fear came true
Parents often trust their instincts, especially when it comes to their children’s health. A mother recently shared what first seemed like a simple "lazy eye" in her toddler at first eventually became a serious concern. She believed it was a common issue that many children experience and the doctors reassured her the same. But as the weeks passed, she began noticing unusual changes, including something alarming she later spotted on the baby monitor. On November 27, 2025, the mom, Kristen, known as @kristenpaige28 on TikTok, posted a series photos of her daughter and explained the emotional journey her family has faced since then.
In her TikTok post, the mother explained, “How I noticed my daughter had cancer in her eye, a rare childhood cancer called retinoblastoma.” She described how everything started when her daughter’s left eye “started to wander at the end of August 2025,” and they had mentioned it to her pediatrician, who referred them to an ophthalmologist. The appointment was set for December 2025. “Her pediatrician reassured us that lazy eye was common in children,” she said, adding that it was not always noticeable.
@kristenpaige28 Explaining to my sweet 2 year old daughter with cancer that she is going to need her eye removed. The hardest thing we’ve had to face. The hardest thing to explain. #childhoodcancer #cancer #retinoblastoma #prosetheticeye #fuckcancer ♬ original sound - Kristen
She tried not to worry, but her concern grew when the wandering became more frequent. On November 8, they saw a white glow in her daughter’s eye when she looked up in the light, which made her fear something serious. The mother then revealed how she came across an article about another parent who had discovered their child’s eye tumor through a baby monitor.
“That night I ran to the monitor when my daughter went to bed,” she said. She noticed her daughter's right eye was glowing in the dark, thus indicating an issue with the left one. The sight confirmed her fears, and she cried all night. "I bawled all night because my intuition told me it was a tumor," she wrote. The next morning, they went to the emergency room. There, the on-call ophthalmologist confirmed it was retinoblastoma and explained that her daughter likely cannot see from her left eye and may never regain vision in it. After the diagnosis, the family began a series of hospital visits.
The mother shared photos of her daughter, Miley, in the hospital with a large bandage over her eye, giving a thumbs-up. The on-screen text read, “She is so strong.” Doctors had to remove Miley’s left eye to prevent the cancer from spreading. Despite the difficult treatment, the mother kept encouraging her daughter, calling her brave and resilient as she faced surgery and recovery. In another post, she revealed the journey continued with chemotherapy. Miley was set to receive six months of treatment.
@kristenpaige28 Explaining to my sweet 2 year old daughter with cancer that she is going to need her eye removed. The hardest thing we’ve had to face. The hardest thing to explain. #childhoodcancer #cancer #retinoblastoma #prosetheticeye #fuckcancer ♬ original sound - Kristen
Holding her daughter close in the video, the mother said, “We are not so happy, but Miley’s going to be strong.” She also explained to her daughter that she would lose her hair, softly saying, “bye-bye hair.” The mother asked her child if she was strong, kind, and beautiful, lifting her spirits with gentle encouragement. Throughout the ordeal, the mother also expressed deep gratitude for the support and donations they received from strangers and friends.
For more updates, follow @kristenpaige28 on her TikTok account.
More on Amplify
Mom noticed something odd about her daughter's eyes during vacation, and it may have saved her life