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Armani Armenta is the 5-month- old son of Apollo and Crystal Armenta of Dodge City.
Armani is bubbly and full of life. His whole being is infused with joy, considering the difficulties he's been through. The baby, who was born with big beautiful brown eyes, now only has one eye as a result of retinoblastoma — a cancerous tumor that grows in the retina of the eye.
As Armani approached five months of age, his mother noticed that his right eye was drifting. Initially, what she thought was be a lazy eye raised more concerns.
"One day, we covered his left eye," Crystal said. "We then held objects in front of him to see if he would follow them. He didn't."
According to Crystal, Armani's father also picked up on something else.
"Apollo mentioned that in photographs, his right eye shined more," she said.
Looking back at photographs, Armani's right eye always appeared with a white circle over his pupil. In retinoblastoma cases, this symptom is referred to as "the cat eye."
Armani's parents took him to see his pediatrician, who referred them to an opthalmologist in Oklahoma. The opthalmologist referred them to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.
Surgery
On Feb. 6, the Armentas and their son began what would be the longest two weeks of their lives. Armani underwent a week of visits with nurses and doctors, blood work, examinations under anesthesia and a magnetic resonance imaging scan.
Doctors diagnosed Armani with retinoblastoma and, because his tumor was quite large and all vision in his right eye had already been destroyed, Armani would undergo enucleation surgery — an operation to remove the whole eye and part of the optic nerve attached to it.
"We both started crying," Crystal said. "He is so little and for us, it was just painful. Everything happened so fast, we were in shock."
Surgery was scheduled for Feb. 13, but the Armentas wouldn't let it happen without first taking a family photograph.
"We realized we didn't have a family portrait yet," Crystal said. "We drove to Wal-Mart that Saturday to take a family photo. I cried the entire way, just thinking it was the only photo I would have of him with both his natural eyes."
On Tuesday, Feb. 14, while most people celebrated Valentine's Day, Armani was having his right eye bandages removed.
Armani currently has his right eyelids stitched together, and stitches are scheduled to be removed March 20. He will then be measured for an artificial eye.
On Monday, Armani's parents received a phone call that delivered good news: Results of the pathology test verified that Armani was cancer-free.
"In going through all of this, we've learned the great generosity of people in this town," Crystal said. "There are still a lot of people with good hearts. People we didn't know have supported us, and we really appreciate it."
Crystal said what comforts her is that although her son may have lost one eye, she tries to think of it as losing the cancer, which is what truly matters.
"He's cancer free, he's perfect," she said.
The Armentas hope to bring awareness to other parents about retinoblastoma. They say what can easily be disregarded as a drifting or lazy eye can be more serious.
Armani Armenta is the 5-month- old son of Apollo and Crystal Armenta of Dodge City.
Armani is bubbly and full of life. His whole being is infused with joy, considering the difficulties he's been through. The baby, who was born with big beautiful brown eyes, now only has one eye as a result of retinoblastoma — a cancerous tumor that grows in the retina of the eye.
As Armani approached five months of age, his mother noticed that his right eye was drifting. Initially, what she thought was be a lazy eye raised more concerns.
"One day, we covered his left eye," Crystal said. "We then held objects in front of him to see if he would follow them. He didn't."
According to Crystal, Armani's father also picked up on something else.
"Apollo mentioned that in photographs, his right eye shined more," she said.
Looking back at photographs, Armani's right eye always appeared with a white circle over his pupil. In retinoblastoma cases, this symptom is referred to as "the cat eye."
Armani's parents took him to see his pediatrician, who referred them to an opthalmologist in Oklahoma. The opthalmologist referred them to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.
Surgery
On Feb. 6, the Armentas and their son began what would be the longest two weeks of their lives. Armani underwent a week of visits with nurses and doctors, blood work, examinations under anesthesia and a magnetic resonance imaging scan.
Doctors diagnosed Armani with retinoblastoma and, because his tumor was quite large and all vision in his right eye had already been destroyed, Armani would undergo enucleation surgery — an operation to remove the whole eye and part of the optic nerve attached to it.
"We both started crying," Crystal said. "He is so little and for us, it was just painful. Everything happened so fast, we were in shock."
Surgery was scheduled for Feb. 13, but the Armentas wouldn't let it happen without first taking a family photograph.
"We realized we didn't have a family portrait yet," Crystal said. "We drove to Wal-Mart that Saturday to take a family photo. I cried the entire way, just thinking it was the only photo I would have of him with both his natural eyes."
On Tuesday, Feb. 14, while most people celebrated Valentine's Day, Armani was having his right eye bandages removed.
Armani currently has his right eyelids stitched together, and stitches are scheduled to be removed March 20. He will then be measured for an artificial eye.
On Monday, Armani's parents received a phone call that delivered good news: Results of the pathology test verified that Armani was cancer-free.
"In going through all of this, we've learned the great generosity of people in this town," Crystal said. "There are still a lot of people with good hearts. People we didn't know have supported us, and we really appreciate it."
Crystal said what comforts her is that although her son may have lost one eye, she tries to think of it as losing the cancer, which is what truly matters.
"He's cancer free, he's perfect," she said.
The Armentas hope to bring awareness to other parents about retinoblastoma. They say what can easily be disregarded as a drifting or lazy eye can be more serious.
Benefits for a cause
Several benefits have been organized in order to assist the Armenta family with traveling costs, as they will have to travel frequently for check-ups until Armani is 18. All proceeds will be deposited into Armani’s personal account at the Credit Union of Dodge City.
One of the upcoming benefits will take place Thursday at both Pizza Hut locations in Dodge City. Ten percent of every purchase between 5 and 9 p.m. will be donated to Armani's account.
Another benefit is scheduled for March 5 at Dodge City Malibu. Admission for the Zumba class that evening will be $10 and 100 percent of the proceeds will be donated.
For more information on the Armani family or to make a donation, people may visit armanifund.everyday-legacy.com.
Reach Nancy Calderon at (620) 408-9914 or via email at nancy.calderon@dodgeglobe.com.
