Toddler left blind in one eye and wakes 'screeching' in agony after head bump suffered at Scottish nursery

A toddler was left blind in one eye and "in 24/7 pain" after he fell over and bumped his head while learning to walk at nursery.

Levi Lithgow, three, had a minor bump when he was one. The incident seemed harmless, but weeks on his eye became increasingly light sensitive. Doctors later discovered the bump had dislodged the lens in his right eye.

Levi Lithgow, who has been left blind in one eye | Gemma Lithgow/SWNS

A year on, the lens was removed, but it could not be replaced as Levi's eye kept filling with fluid, causing him more and more pain. The toddler still spends most days in agony and is blind in one eye, but faces a three-year waiting list to have his eye removed.

Mother Gemma Lithgow, 22, from Ayr, said: "It's got to the point that he wakes in the middle of the night screeching and clawing at his eye. The pain is so bad that there's no consoling him.

"Having his eye removed would stop all of his pain and the hospital trips. He would be able to live a normal little boy's life. I couldn't imagine him living three years with the amount of pain he is in."

Levi Lithgow with father Robert Lithgow | Gemma Lithgow/SWNS

Gemma and husband Robert Lithgow, 24, who both work as school transporters, said their son was perfectly normal and healthy. But a little bump to the head aged one, in May 2022, while learning to walk changed everything.

Two weeks after the small fall, the infant’s right eye became increasingly light sensitive and he would become terrified whenever doctors or ophthalmologists tried to examine him.

Mrs Lithgow said: "When he was in the light, it would hurt. We assumed it was just a scratch at first. It got to the point he couldn't travel in the car without us blocking the window with a towel first."

Tests showed the knock on the head had led to the boy’s lens becoming dislocated. The lens was removed surgically in December last year, leaving the infant completely blind in that eye, but medics hoped to replace the lens and fix the issues.

However, without a lens, the boy’s eye pressure rose as it filled with blood and fluids, causing him further agony.

Levi Lithgow | Gemma Lithgow/SWNS

Doctors said they would not be unable to replace the lens until the pressure was stabilised. Levi had to go for monthly surgeries under general anaesthetic to drain the fluids - but within two weeks they would begin to build up again.

But his previous surgery was in August, when doctors revealed too much damage had been done to the eye and his vision could not be saved.

Because of how exhausting the pain and light-sensitivity can be, Levi can only manage half-days at nursery and "can't live the life of a normal three-year-old".

Mrs Lithgow said: "When it's sunny outside, he can't see where he's going and it causes him pain. He ends up shutting the other eye too - and then he's completely blind."

The mother said the only solution now was to have the eyeball removed and replaced with a prosthetic to stop the pain. But Levi is on a three-year waiting list for the operation - and Mrs Lithgow fears the effects of that on her son's wellbeing.

She said: "In three years, he would miss out on so much - school activities, trips, playing with his friends. I can't imagine the stress the hospitals are under, but I also can't imagine what three years of this would look like for him in pain."

The parents have looked into getting the operation done privately in a bid to relieve their young son of his suffering. They calculated £17,000 should cover the surgery, follow-up care and cost of having a custom prosthetic eye made for him.

Mrs Lithgow has set up a GoFundMe donation page in a desperate bid to get her son the care he needs. More than £6,500 of donations have been made to date, adding to £7,000 of the family’s own money they have managed to save.

Mrs Lithgow said: "If we can get the money, we could have the surgery done by the start of next year.”

The fundraiser is available to access here.