Boy receives shock diagnosis after routine check-up and loses his eye

Renfrewshire (Scotland) - Riley Thompson is only five years old and already has to cope with living with just one eye.

The whole drama began in February of this year when mother Nicole (36) noticed her little son constantly blinking and squinting slightly. What the Scottish woman didn't realize at the time was that the five-year-old was already blind in his right eye.

Nicole decided to make an appointment with an optician. The optician noticed the boy's vision problems and immediately referred the family to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.

There, doctors made shocking discoveries. "My heart stopped when I saw a lump the size of a golf ball just behind Riley's eyeball," the little boy's mother recalled in an interview with Glasgow Times.

The diagnosis: optic glioma, also known as optic nerve glioma. The tumor, which typically occurs in children, develops in or around the optic nerve and exerts pressure on it as it grows. This leads to vision problems.

Riley lost his right eye after the life-saving operation in May 2024, but not his courage to face life. Since September, he has been attending elementary school, enjoys playing with Lego, trains in taekwondo and spends a lot of time with his three-year-old sister Isla.

In November, Nicole, her partner Sam (34) and the two children want to raise money for brain tumor research with a charity run.

"Riley, like so many other children, could have lost much more than just an eye to this tumor. That's why it's important that we do our bit to raise funds and awareness of the incredible work of Brain Tumor Research," says mother Nicole.

The equivalent of more than 1200 euros has already been raised.