Meet Hadley
Layci and Matt share the story of their daughter, Hadley.
Shortly after their baby girl Hadley was born almost three years ago, Layci and Matt were given the news that Hadley has clinical bilateral anophthalmia, a condition in which the eyes are very small or non-existent, as well as optic nerve hypoplasia, a condition in which the optic nerves are small and underdeveloped.
As a result, Hadley’s eyes don’t function adequately, and she is considered blind. Ultrasounds conducted before Hadley’s birth didn’t detect these conditions, so the diagnosis was a complete surprise.
After the diagnosis, Layci and Matt were unsure of where to go or what to do. They had high hopes that Hadley could attain independence, yet they also feared it wouldn’t be as much as her siblings have or as much as they would like for her.
Fortunately, when Hadley was six months old, the Wisconsin Birth to 3 Program referred the family to Vision Forward to provide Hadley with the services of a Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI). Through the collaboration among the Birth to 3 providers, the TVI and Hadley’s parents, Hadley gained the trust and confidence to try new activities and explore new environments in her home and within her community. And life began to change for the better, little by little.
Since working with Vision Forward, we have not only been seeing more progress than we could have imagined with Hadley, but we have and keep continuing to get the tools and resources from them to make an easier and more accessible future for her,
Layci, Hadley’s mom
Hadley has made tremendous strides over the last two years. She has reached a number of milestones, including walking with a walker, and she is becoming more comfortable exploring her surroundings, even unfamiliar ones. And Vision Forward has helped Hadley’s parents learn ways they can help their daughter keep succeeding and knocking down barriers.
Thank you for investing in Hadley and others living with vision loss.
Please consider a gift to support Vision Forward’s mission.