Minnesota Mom’s Daughter Hazel Was Born With Her Eyes Wide Open and Unable to Blink, So Now She Blinks for Her Every Day

Victoria LaBrie of Minnesota stops what she is doing at least six times a day to apply ointment to her baby daughter’s eyes. When Hazel needs medication, LaBrie gently closes the baby’s eyelids by hand. Between those moments she also blinks for her, Newsweek reported, because Hazel was born unable to blink on her own.

LaBrie, 32, told Newsweek that Hazel “came into the world with her eyes wide open.” The family later learned the cause was Moebius syndrome, a rare neurological condition that can affect the muscles of the face and the movement of the eyes.

Six Ointment Applications a Day for a Baby Who Cannot Blink

According to Newsweek, Hazel still cannot blink by herself. LaBrie applies ointment to her eyes at least six times a day, closes her eyelids manually when giving medication, and blinks for her throughout the day. The phrase “blinks for her” describes that hands-on routine: it is a mother doing by hand what the body normally does automatically, not a medical procedure with its own name.

Blinking spreads a thin layer of tears across the eye and clears away debris. When the eyelids do not close, the surface of the eye can dry out. The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) notes that because the eyelids of some people with Moebius syndrome remain open during sleep, corneal ulceration can occur, and that frequent lubrication for dry eyes is often necessary. That is the problem the ointment is meant to address, and each child’s care team sets the plan for how often and with what.

A 20-Week Scan, Open Eyes on the Ultrasound and an Ambulance Ride

LaBrie’s pregnancy was already being watched closely. At a 20-week anatomy scan, she learned that Hazel had hydrocephalus, which Newsweek described as a build-up of fluid in the brain. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) defines hydrocephalus as an abnormal buildup of cerebrospinal fluid deep within the brain and says ultrasound can detect it in a fetus. After the scan, LaBrie had frequent ultrasounds for the rest of the pregnancy.

In the third trimester she noticed that Hazel’s eyes were open on the scans. The ultrasound technician told her it was completely normal for babies to open their eyes in the womb. Nothing at that point suggested a problem with blinking.

That changed at birth. Hazel arrived with her eyes wide open and could not blink. LaBrie said a nurse agreed something was unusual, and the next day Hazel was taken by ambulance from the Twin Cities to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Mayo Clinic Children’s says it has more than 300 doctors with pediatric specialty training across more than 70 specialty programs and clinics, and that it cares for complex and rare conditions with teams that build individual plans with families.

What Moebius Syndrome Means for the Face and Eyes

At Mayo, Hazel was diagnosed with Moebius syndrome. NINDS material republished by BrainFacts describes it as a rare birth defect involving missing or underdeveloped sixth and seventh cranial nerves, which govern eye movement and facial expression.

The NIH’s Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center (GARD) lists facial weakness or paralysis, eye movement problems, eyelids that may not close fully, and feeding and swallowing difficulties in early infancy among the possible signs. It also says most affected individuals have normal intelligence and that most children eventually reach their motor milestones.

The signs vary from child to child. The NINDS text says the first symptom, present at birth, is an inability to suck, with feeding, swallowing and choking problems, while in growing children the lack of facial expression and inability to smile become the dominant visible symptoms.

GARD also lists two genes, PLXND1 and REV3L, as causes of the condition, with an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance.

The condition is uncommon. GARD puts the number of people with it at about 50,000 in the United States, while NORD cites one estimate of about one case per 50,000 live births in the country. NORD adds that Moebius syndrome is not progressive, which means the underlying nerve condition does not worsen over time.

Care Over the Long Term and the Rest of the Family

The NINDS text says there is no specific course of treatment and no cure for Moebius syndrome. Care is matched to the symptoms: feeding support for infants, physical and speech therapy, and surgery for problems such as crossed eyes. It adds that with proper care and treatment, many people with the condition have a normal life expectancy.

LaBrie is raising Hazel alongside four other children, according to Newsweek: Roni, 16, her adopted biological half-sister, twins Harley and Harper, 8, and Colton, 6.

For now, the day-to-day work is measured in small tasks. Ointment goes on at least six times a day. Eyelids are closed by hand when medicine is given. And through the day, a mother blinks for a baby who cannot yet do it herself.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: Nephron – CC BY-SA 3.0/Wikimedia Commons