'I thought my baby was scared of the dark - then we got devastating diagnosis'

A mum thought her daughter had simply developed a 'fear of the dark' - until they discovered it was due to a rare cancerrobbing her eyesight.

Antonia Lambert first noticed her then 17-month-old daughter Delilah-Rose Lambert's pupil in her left eye shine white in March this year. Concerned, the mum-of-one took her little girl to the opticians and was immediately referred to the NHS Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby.

At the hospital, the 20-year-old claims her daughter was sent home as they didn't see anything of concern. But when Delilah began to develop a 'fear of the dark' over the next month and was seen to constantly rub her 'sore' left eye, Antonia took her tot back to the opticians.

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Again, Delilah was immediately referred back to the hospital and when a mass was discovered behind her left eye, she was referred to Birmingham Children's Hospital. Sadly, following an ultrasound and an eye examination Antonia's daughter was diagnosed with retinoblastoma in June this year - a rare form of cancer.

The family believe that as the cancer diminished Delilah's eyesight and she began to struggle to see at night, it made her afraid of the dark. And as the tumour filled the whole of her left eye socket, Delilah was left with no choice but to have her eye removed this month.

Antonia is now sharing her daughter's story to warn other parents about the signs and symptoms to look out for and urges them to always go for a second opinion.

The hairdresser also believes that if her daughter's symptoms weren't initially dismissed by the hospital, she may still have her left eye.

Antonia, from South-Killingholme, in North Lincolnshire, said: "We had a lamp on in our room and one of her pupils looked white.

"We didn't think much of it but she started to get wobbly so we took her to get her eyes tested.

"They did an emergency referral to our local hospital but they triaged her and said she wouldn't be seen for a couple of years.

"[A month later], we went back to the opticians and [then] the hospital then got us in a week later.

"They referred us to Birmingham Hospital as they told us she had a mass behind her left eye. The tumour completely filled her eye socket.

"Before she went in they said there was a chance of laser eye surgery or chemo but when they found the tumour they said it was too big and neither would work.

"There were so many emotions at the time and I didn't know how to feel. I sat and cried for days.

"I think most of the emotions were more at our local hospital and they had decided it [her eye] wasn't important enough to look at, at the start and it made me think that it could have been different.

"The tumour might have been smaller if she was seen earlier and they could have potentially saved her eye.

"[Before her diagnosis], she was in her own room and she refused to settle in her room and would cry for hours until I put a light on or would take her out of that room.

"The hospital could not be 100 per cent but they said because she was losing her eyesight in that eye, she couldn't see as much in the dark, which was making her scared.

"I think her losing her eyesight [due to the cancer] was making her unable to sleep and scared of the dark.

"Before this, she was a great sleeper and would go to bed at 7pm and wake up at 8am without stirring, but by May she wouldn't sleep in her own room.

"She would also constantly rub her eye which we first thought was tiredness but the pressure in her eye had built up so much it was making it sore.

"Her left eye was quite red and she'd wake up in the morning and would rub it."

According to the NHS, Retinoblastoma is a rare type of eye cancer that can affect young children. It affects the retina, which is at the back of the eye.

Following a three-hour operation to remove her left eye, Delilah has currently been fitted with a temporary prosthetic and will have her real one inserted in seven weeks.

Antonia is now raising awareness of her daughter's diagnosis so parents know what signs to look out for and urges them to get their child's eyes tested if they believe something is wrong.

Antonia said: "There are things that upset me. She'll never be able to do some sports even if she wanted to as she hasn't got her full sight.

"You need to trust your gut and push as much as possible. We didn't push enough at the start but we kept going and going and she ended up getting her eye removed.

"It's not massively common. We were told 30 to 40 kids a year in the UK get diagnosed with this. You don't think it's going to be you until it is.

"The opticians don't really test kids' eyes under four unless they have concerns but if you do you definitely need to get their sight checked out."

A spokeswoman for NHS Humber Health Partnership said: "We are sorry to hear about the difficulties Miss Lambert and her daughter encountered at Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital earlier this year.

"We would be keen for her to contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service team so we can discuss the issues with her in more detail and to allow us to investigate fully."