Girl Recovers Sight in One Eye in a “Medical Miracle”

No one can explain it, but Gabrielle Bayless who seemed destined for permanent blindness, can now see perfectly out of one eye. Go to the story link for a video that you must see:

Children’s Hospital has no shortage of stories about children who have beaten the odds, but even doctors can’t explain what happened to a young patient who many call a medical miracle.

Gabrielle Bayless’ story is not just about survival, but a story of a miracle.

When Gabrielle Bayless was just 2-years old, she was diagnosed with optic glioma, a brain tumor that causes blindness without treatment.

“You go numb and someone has to tell you what to do because you just don’t know,” Gabrielle’s mother Edie explained how she felt when she found out.

Edie took Gabrielle for treatment that included dozens of MRI’s. Each test required sedation until one of the nurses thought of another way.

“She actually laid on top of her and went into the machine with her,” Edie said. “It meant a lot to Gabrielle but it really meant a lot to her mom.”

“It was like ’she’s in the machine, I can do it,’” Gabrielle said.

Edie said it was the commitment of the Children’s Hospital staff that kept the family holding on, even after two years of chemotherapy with no change to Gabrielle’s health.

“That’s when we started huge doses of steroids to try and shrink the tumor,” Edie said.

Gabrielle’s surgery left her blind, so technicians made a mask for her small head and tried the radiation as a last attempt.

Shortly after the procedure failed, Gabrielle suddenly regained 20/20 vision back in her right eye. Doctors couldn’t explain what happened.

“And it was a miracle, it was really, really special,” Edie said.

Gabrielle, now 8-years old, said she feels lucky because she knows there are some kids who don’t make it through their tough times.

“When I was little, Children’s was really the only place I saw,” Gabrielle said. “I was either at home or at Children’s. They were like my family then and almost the only people I knew.”

Gabrielle still has the tumor, but she doesn’t take her sight in one eye for granted.

“When I go outside, I really take a look around,” Gabrielle said. “With some kids, they play with each other and they say ‘oh, look at this’ and I go, ‘this is beautiful.’”

“I think it’s a miracle myself that I can see,” Gabrielle said.