Rare Congenital Disorder Leaves Super Baby Faith Without Eyes

November 14, 2009 by Cathy Ribble  
Filed under: News

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Little Faith Wildshuetz was born with a rare congenital disorder which has left her without eyes and completely blind.

“We just felt that our faith in God and his plan and purpose for her was what was going to carry us through this,” Bridget Wildshuetz said. “So at that point, we said, ‘We’re going to name her Faith.’”

Their motto has become the scripture found in Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,” and their mantra has become Jeremy Camp’s There is Faith.

Faith was diagnosed with severe bilateral microphthalmia, a disorder which results in minimal eye development.  In severe cases, that can mean the absence of eye tissue and the globe in the eye socket area.  The condition is linked to chromosomal disorders and environmental causes such as exposure to chemicals, but no specific cause has been identified.  About one in every 10,000 births are affected by some form of microphthalmia.

Sometimes one eye is affected, while the other eye is normal.  Both of Faith’s eyes are affected, and she is completely blind.  She also has difficulty in getting enough oxygen because she has very small sinuses.

“She’s 100 percent totally blind,” Mike Wildscheutz said.  “She’s never going to be able to see anything.  It’s just basically an empty socket.”

In Faith’s case, she was able to be fitted with conformers, which are clear plastic prosthetics with a peg or stem for easy insertion and removal.  Conformers are the first step towards prosthetic eyes, and they expand the eye socket, stretching the eyelid and allowing proper growth of the face structure.

During these difficult financial times, the family is struggling to keep up with utilities and day-to-day expenses.  Faith was finally able to go home from the hospital in early October after nearly a month.  A hospital dismissal is great news, but that is also when the medical bills usually start arriving.

Mike is a mining engineer who was laid off from his supervisor job in October 2008, and Bridget is an elementary school P.E. teacher.  The Kyle, Texas, family has a support network including family, friends and church, but expenses can be overwhelming.  The Wildshuetz family could use some additional help.

Donate to Super Baby Faith’s benefit fund.

To follow her journey on Twitter: @SuperBabyFaith

Further updates on her condition and progress, visit www.SuperBabyFaith.com.

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