After months of being told her son would never be able to see, a mom captured the exact moment when everything changed, and she realized what a “miracle” her son is.
Mom Stacey Venter noticed that something didn’t seem right with her son’s vision at around 8 weeks old. She told Newsweek that he “wasn’t making eye contact,” his eyes roved around, and he didn’t respond to visual cues.
That kick-started many ophthalmology appointments and MRI scans, with doctors even suspecting that Cohen could have a brain tumor. While that was fortunately not the case, it wasn’t possible to reach any diagnosis at all, and Venter, 33, was simply told, “this is just who Cohen is.”
As a result, the devastated parents from New Zealand were informed that their baby boy might never be able to see.
@hopeforcohen / TikTok
Venter said: “We were gently told to keep our expectations very low and to not have hope; otherwise, we would be greatly disappointed. It was incredibly hard to hear as parents.”
It was a heartbreaking moment for Venter, as she had imagined such a perfect life with her newborn son. In that instance, it suddenly felt like everything was being taken away.
“The fear of the unknown was overwhelming. It was one of the most emotionally draining and difficult seasons of my life,” she continued.
Despite that, Cohen’s parents remained hopeful and chose to believe in miracles. Regardless of what the doctors said, Venter had faith that her son would in fact see one day, and she never lost that optimism.
Venter continued testing her son’s visual responses in the hope that, one day, he might react.
After several months, she thought she saw Cohen react to the light coming off his mom’s phone screen. He wasn’t tracking it, and it was only a minor response, but Venter said that she “knew that was the beginning of something.”
Then came the pivotal moment when Venter held an orange ball in front of her 10-month-old son, and to her amazement, he reached out to grab it. She pulled her phone out to capture the incredible milestone that changed everything.
“I had such deep conviction and faith that Cohen would one day see, so I was constantly testing his visual responses—always watching, always hoping,” Venter said.
“I had this growing expectation that one day he would respond to a toy or a ball, and the day I filmed that video was the day it finally happened. I could see the second his eyes locked onto the ball and then slowly reach out. From that moment on, his vision began improving—slowly but steady.”
It is still unclear how much Cohen can see, but Venter believes he can now make out “a reasonable amount,” based on how he interacts with the world around him.
Now, at 2 years old, Cohen looks directly at his parents and smiles at them, laughs when they pull silly faces, and he can see food when it is placed in front of him. Indeed, Venter even learned that, if she placed raisins around the room, Cohen would crawl around to locate them.
After being told that her son might never see anything, Venter said she feels as if her prayers have been answered. She is hopeful that Cohen’s vision will continue to improve, given that he has made so much progress already.
Venter said: “Even the specialists, who once told us to keep our expectations low, have acknowledged that his progress is remarkable. They can’t fully explain it, but they’ve also said we should expect continued improvement based on the changes they’ve seen so far.”
The proud mom has been documenting her son’s progress on social media (@hopeforcohen on TikTok). In May she shared the footage of “the day everything changed” when Cohen reached for the ball, and it went viral with over 1.2 million views and more than 29,000 likes at the time of writing.
It has led to an outpouring of support and praise for Cohen, as people around the world were heartened by the toddler’s resilience. Venter has received countless messages from families going through similar situations who have had their faith renewed after seeing how far Cohen has come.
“I never expected our story to reach so far, but I’m so grateful I can give back—to share what’s worked for us, and to offer hope to families who may feel like they’re in a hopeless place,” Venter said.
“Cohen’s journey has taught me that children are far more resilient, intuitive, and miraculous than we realize. Diagnoses can be helpful, but they don’t define our kids—and they definitely don’t dictate their potential.”
The viral TikTok video has gained over 500 comments so far, as one user wrote: “what an absolute little warrior.”
Another person replied: “Never say never. God is bigger than everything and everyone.”
A third commenter added: “I have watched this so many times. I love this … to better and better and better vision Cohen.”
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