Mary Bridge Children’s Eye Center helps children like Zoe reach their full potential

A child’s vision helps them understand and interact with the world around them. From birth to kindergarten, their eyesight is rapidly developing along with their coordination and motor skills. An uncorrected vision problem can delay development along with their ability to learn.

Thanks to funding from the Mary Bridge Brigade as well as other community donors, Mary Bridge Children’s Eye Center – Tacoma opened in February 2022 to address the critical need for pediatric vision care. Since then, the unit has served more than 13,300 children.

This new space offers state-of-the-art eye care, ophthalmology and optometry services, specialized eye care for children and adults including lazy eye (strabismus), styes/chalazion, pink eye/infections, clogged tear ducts, care and treatment for cataracts, contact lens exams as well as surgical and non-surgical treatment for a wide range of other eye issues.

The gift of sight

Zoe de la Cruz V (pronounced Zoh) was born as a micro-preemie at 23 weeks’ and two days gestation and spent the following five months in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Along with two brain bleeds that affected his optic nerve, one of Zoe’s primary diagnoses is cerebral palsy (CP), a congenital disorder of movement, muscle tone, or posture which can often cause visual impairment.

“Zoe had lots of eye exams in and outside of the NICU,” Zoe’s mom Misty says. “We finally got to this place where his second bout of retinopathy of prematurity cleared up and his eyes were stable enough for us to transfer our care to Tacoma with Dr. Cheung, which was much closer to our home in Olympia.”

At about 7 months old (3 months corrected), Zoe developed strabismus, also known as lazy eye or wandering eye. After using eye patches in an attempt to correct it, pediatric ophthalmologist Jason Cheung, MD, determined that surgery was required.

Zoe has a whole new world to explore, thanks to the eye care he received at Mary Bridge Children’s

“As a pediatric ophthalmologist, the most common surgery we do is strabismus surgery, which is eye misalignment,” Dr. Cheung explains. “We realign the eye muscle so that the eyes are pointing in the same direction. That is about 70 percent of our surgeries.”

Thanks to Dr. Cheung and his team, Zoe and his family went into his surgery feeling confident and empowered.

“I really enjoy how Dr. Cheung really explains things, and if you feel like your brain isn’t connecting the dots for whatever reason, you’re able to ask as many questions as you need, there’s no rush to the process, and the same goes for his office staff,” Misty says.

A brand-new world for Zoe

The day after his surgery, Zoe’s parents were already noticing a difference with their son. He was able to visually target a toy and grab it versus feeling around for it which was typical for him. His mom described watching his newfound skills as a “really beautiful experience.”

While Zoe will need eye care for the rest of his life — like glasses for nearsightedness among other things — having access to care closer to home is already making a dramatic difference in his development and overall quality of life.

“This surgery and access to eye care means that Zoe has the best chance and opportunity to grow and move forward in life,” Misty says. “Because he’s a micro-preemie and because he has CP, he’s already developmentally delayed. But by him having this procedure, he’s making several advancements, including expressing himself more and communicating with his daddy and me. Zoe will have lots of challenges to face in his life, but thanks to donors and the eye clinic, there’s one less obstacle for him to overcome.”

Your gift through the Mary Bridge Children’s Foundation will continue to expand access to critical services like eye care for children in your community. Learn more at supportmarybridge.org.