Eye exam leads to discovery of little girl's brain tumor

NORTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A little girl is back at school after recovering from a brain tumor.

Ruby Mosqueda, 8, was experiencing excruciating headaches last year.

“She would wake up in the middle of the night crying, like screaming crying,” Ruby’s mother, Maria Garcia, said. %

%

Ruby was prescribed pain medication for migraines, but her doctor wanted to take a closer look with a full eye exam.

Doctors found signs of trauma in Ruby’s eye.

“(There was) swelling on her brain, something that was impinging her optic nerve tract,” Dr. Kristin Bender said.

Ruby and her family went straight from the eye doctor to the emergency room where scans revealed a brain tumor the size of a golf ball.

TRENDING STORIES:

• Prefabricated building falls off truck, blocks interstate
• Gwinnett man found guilty in baby's death
• 5-year-old boy hit by stray bullet in Atlanta apartment

Surgeons at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta took out the tumor, which was not cancerous, with radiation treatments.

Ruby was hospitalized for about a month.

She has recovered enough to start second grade.

“We owe her life to Dr. Bender,” Garcia said.

Bender wants parents to know that simple vision screenings at school can’t spot potential health problems.

“Make sure they get their eyes dilated. Every child should get their eyes dilated every year,” she said.

Ruby said she feels much better now and her headaches are gone.

You can learn more about comprehensive eye exams here.

Cox Media Group