Noah is incredibly smart, generous, and fun. He is 7 and in the second grade. He does 3rd and 4th grade math and reads on a 4th grade level. He loves to read and is currently reading A Series of Unfortunate Events. Although he loves chapter books, he really gravitates toward non-fiction. He loves learning about animals- especially sea life and space. Recently he has taken an interest in geography and learning the countries and capitals.
In January of 2012, Noah was diagnosed with Retinoblastoma. In the time leading up to his diagnosis we noticed a white glow in his eye in low light situations. He has received three rounds of IntraArterial Chemotherapy (IAC). He was the first parient at Johns Hopkins to try IAC. Because of his age they had to write a protocol to include younger patients. The chemo damaged his eye so severely it had to be removed in Nov 2012.
Even though we are years out from treatment, his prosthetic requires about 4-5 visits per year. Noah often cries that he wishes people would stop asking what’s wrong with his eye. Cancer has left him with a lifelong struggle of being labeled as different or weird. Usually he handles it well, but in those vulnerable moments my sweet boy is so sad. Noah is a boy scout that is learning to love adventure. Our hope is that through this, he will build a strong core of friends so that he is more confident in himself.
Hope Session by Desiree Ortman Photography | Facebook | Instagram