York: Guide Dogs help Margot Duffy-Moss after being born without eyes

At first, Margot’s parents didn’t realise there was anything wrong with their newborn daughter.

Laura Duffy-Moss’ labour came on so quickly that her husband John had to deliver Margot in the living room of their home in York.

The Duffy-Moss family (Image: Guide Dogs)

The pregnancy had been routine and Laura had been told throughout her scans “the baby was great”.

“It had been quite a dramatic birth and we were coming down from all of that,” mum of two Laura said.

“It was only about three o'clock in the morning when I was holding her that something didn't feel quite right. Margot hadn't yet opened her eyes and her face just looked unusual to me for some reason.”

Margot as a young baby (Image: Guide Dogs)

Incurable condition affects one in 100,000 babies

After Margot was seen by a series of paediatric doctors – one of whom tried to prise open her eyes with small metal clamps – she was referred to a specialist paediatric ophthalmologist.

It wasn’t until Margot was four days old that her parents’ fears were confirmed and she was diagnosed with Bilateral Anophthalmia.

Margot celebrates her first birthday (Image: Guide Dogs)

The incurable condition affects one in 100,000 babies and means the tot lives her life in constant darkness.

Laura, a former solicitor who now works as a school administrator, said she “just broke down” after hearing the news and “felt lost”.

Margot with mum Laura (Image: Guide Dogs)

“I couldn’t stop crying. It was a mixture of disbelief, the confirmation of it, and this sense of grief. We had a beautiful four-day-old baby, but we were faced with this.”

Margot has an operation every three months to clean her eye sockets, insert a prosthetic and then stitch her eyelids shut.

She wears glasses to protect her from rubbing her stitches while they’re healing.

In total she has undergone over 100 medical procedures, ranging from routine blood tests to complex interventions like MRI scans and eye cleaning.

Help from Guide Dogs felt like 'huge heavy burden' was lifted

Once the news had settled in, John, a 33-year-old manager at York Theatre Royal, contacted several professionals to learn more about how to support his daughter.

He self-referred to Guide Dogs – the leading charity supporting people with sight loss and vision impairments.  

Guide Dogs has been supporting Margot since she was 12 weeks old – making her one of the youngest children the charity has ever worked with.

Margot with mum Laura and her older sister (Image: Guide Dogs)

Laura said the charity getting involved felt like a “huge heavy burden” was lifted.

“Before Margot was born, I thought that Guide Dogs was simply about the dogs. I never realised how much more the organisation does,” she explained.  

'She just has a normal happy family life'

Kate Reed, a senior habilitation specialist for Guide Dogs, visited the family within a week to help Margot learn how to independently navigate life. She now meets regularly with the family. 

Thanks to her help, John said: “It sounds silly, but almost sometimes I actually forget that Margot can't see. She just has a normal happy family life.”

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Laura added: “When Margot was little, she was very closed in and wary - you’d have to work hard to get her to feel out in front of her, or feel a different texture. But now seeing the way she’s developed and explored everything, watching her stand her the first time was amazing.

Guide Dogs Hab specialist Kate with Margot (Image: Guide Dogs)

“She’s fought against all the odds and reached so many milestones we thought she might never hit.”

The couple are now expecting their third child.

John said there is a one in 20 chance the next child will be born with the same condition as Margot but added: “This doesn’t change anything for us. We’re embracing whatever comes our way. We’re very excited for our little family to grow, and even more excited to see Margot grow into the best big sister.”

• For more information about Guide Dogs visit: https://www.guidedogs.org.uk/