Six years ago, while on one of his annual trips to Belize with the LEAP Foundation, Dr. Grant Gilliland evaluated a little eight-month-old girl who had something wrong with one of her eyes. Suspecting a potential serious problem, he ordered a CT scan through the hospital and discovered that little Cariel had a retinoblastoma. Dr. Gilliland immediately scheduled surgery to remove the life-threatening tumor from behind her eye, enucleated her eye, and then replaced it with a prosthetic.
Cariel is now a beautiful six-year-old who returns each year for follow up with Dr. Gilliland since there is a risk of the same type of tumor occurring in her other eye. She and her family also love to come visit LEAP and the doctors and nurses who have cared for them over the years. This year, Dr. Gilliland not only evaluated Cariel under sedation, as he does annually, but also her baby brother since there is often a hereditary component to retinoblastoma. LEAP will continue to follow the Estada family and make sure they receive any future care that is needed. These two beautiful children of God are a part of our LEAP extended family in Belize!