The good news is that the media coverage of Rowan’s plight has already led to one retinoblastoma diagnosis in England. We hope the continued exposure can help other parents (and friends of parents) discover this sooner. On that line, we would like to stress one thing: most of the pictures of Rowan that TV and internet news outlets choose to use came after her first treatment; this means her tumor is very noticeable. The drugs included in her treatment dilate her eye and accentuate the tumor. Before her treatment, the tumor was only noticeable in photographs. When you look at old photographs of Rowan, you’ll notice that instead of “red eye,” one of her pupils has “white eye.” The only change we saw with the naked eye occurred very late- a slight darkening of the iris. While we didn’t notice any change to her iris until around August 1st, old photographs reveal “white eye” as early as February.
A very good story on ABC. Here’s Britain’s Mail Online and The Mirror. There’s also the Digital Journal. There’s more. Jenny put up a very sweet and sensible post; when this is all over I’d like to write an article stressing how the internet isn’t just porn, piracy, and pedophilia. Its also the power of (life saving) networks; the collaborative contact with others, which opens the possibility of response, compassion, and love.
Rowan continues to be the story of the hour; we’re getting [persistent] interest from some pretty big media outlets. We’ve declined most requests, and gone exclusive with one show that agreed to fly Madeline (the woman who first recognized Rowan’s tumor) over the pond to meet us. This is exciting to both of us. I cannot begin to describe how sleazy, for lack of a better term, the contact people for news media shows can be. As a professor of rhetoric, I noticed just about every dirty trick in the rhetorical handbook yesterday, and a few from the art of war. But I’m trying real hard to let the small stuff go. And not all of them are evil. But, while trying hard to avoid a strong defense/weak defense position, let me say: ughhh. We’re emotionally spent. Make the phone calls stop.
