Three days later, when Itai and his parents returned to the hospital, the full picture emerged: though the injury had healed and physical signs of trauma had disappeared, the child's visual acuity in that eye remained severely impaired. His left eye, by contrast, functioned perfectly normally.
The boy was immediately referred for comprehensive evaluation by the hospital's ophthalmology department, under the care of Dr. Achiya Nemet, a pediatric ophthalmology specialist in the unit directed by Dr. Tamar Shafran. Advanced imaging including corneal mapping and retinal photography, along with specialized tests, revealed a startling diagnosis.
Itai had been living with a severe case of amblyopia—commonly known as lazy eye—since birth, seeing only shadows from his right eye. The condition had never been detected because his left eye compensated fully, and the child had never complained or shown any difficulty.
"Itai was incredibly fortunate that we quickly identified that he couldn't see from that eye regardless of the injury," Dr. Kaspi explained. "It was truly miraculous. The accidental injury to the lazy eye led to discovering the problem, which saved his vision. Without the injury, alongside rapid diagnosis and identification, Itai could have suffered severe, permanent and irreversible vision damage."
Dr. Nemet emphasized an important point for parents: "Young children usually don't know how to indicate vision difficulties. In many cases, a dominant eye compensates for the weaker one, and the child functions completely normally without parents or educators suspecting anything. In such situations with young children, the brain learns to ignore the weak eye and it becomes lazy—one that in the future won't be able to see even with appropriate glasses."
An urgent treatment plan was developed, including fitted eyeglasses and patching of the healthy eye. The goal was to force the brain to use the weaker eye and develop its visual capacity.
Results were remarkable: within just one month, Itai showed significant improvement. He could identify small numbers on the chart, with expectations that progress would continue as treatment advanced.
Oral, Itai's mother, shared the emotional journey: "Itai never complained, rode his bicycle and functioned completely normally. I have nine children, and I always made sure to do vision screenings for all of them at the well-baby clinic—that's how we discovered some of the children needed glasses. Because of the war with Iran, we didn't complete Itai's screening—and that was critical."
"When the doctors told us that Itai couldn't see from one eye even though the injury had healed—we were simply shocked and distressed to understand he was born this way and lived like this," she continued. "Because of the long period he hadn't seen, there was concern that even with glasses he wouldn't see. But the doctors fought for Itai's eye and performed every possible test. They fitted him with glasses and it was a moment like in the movies—he suddenly said to me: 'Mom, I can see.'"
Oral offered an urgent message to other parents: "I want to tell all parents—don't neglect the screenings at the well-baby clinic, even if there are difficulties. We still have a long road ahead, but thanks to the amazing teams at Shaare Zedek—my child was saved from blindness. Keep up with the screenings before it's too late."
Dr. Nemet and Dr. Kaspi concluded with important guidance: "We recommend that every parent have their children undergo vision screening at ages one, three and five at the well-baby clinic or with a pediatric ophthalmologist to ensure vision development is normal. Even without underlying conditions, family history or complaints from the child—it's very important to be checked."
Itai's case demonstrates how early and rapid diagnosis can save children from irreversible vision damage. Lazy eye is a condition where the eye itself is structurally normal, but the brain doesn't properly process signals coming from it. Without treatment at a young age, the condition becomes permanent and cannot be corrected even with glasses or contact lenses.
