| 1 | House Resolution |
| 2 | A resolution designating April 5, 2005, as "Joey Bergsma |
| 3 | Retinoblastoma Awareness Day" in Florida. |
| 4 |
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| 5 | WHEREAS, little Joseph Hollander Bergsma ("Joey," or |
| 6 | "Little Button") was born July 5, 1997, a child with a zest for |
| 7 | living and a love for animals and nature, music, dancing, and |
| 8 | painting, whose favorite song was "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little |
| 9 | Star," and who, just over one week after his second birthday, |
| 10 | was diagnosed with the most common of childhood intraocular |
| 11 | malignancies, retinoblastoma, a malignant tumor of the retina |
| 12 | thought to be hereditary, most likely arising from retinal germ |
| 13 | cells, and |
| 14 | WHEREAS, retinoblastoma, like some of the other eye |
| 15 | disorders in children, must be diagnosed at an early age to |
| 16 | prevent loss of vision and optimize treatment outcomes, and |
| 17 | WHEREAS, oftentimes made difficult by the unwilling |
| 18 | participation of young children, the complexity of some |
| 19 | diagnoses, and the lack of specialized training, expertise, and |
| 20 | examination equipment, most significant eye problems in |
| 21 | children, including retinoblastoma, can nevertheless be |
| 22 | identified with effective screening techniques, and |
| 23 | WHEREAS, unilateral retinoblastoma normally presents after |
| 24 | 18 months of age and can present as late as 5 years, and the |
| 25 | best opportunity to obtain earlier detection of the tumor is by |
| 26 | educating pediatricians and parents alike, stressing in |
| 27 | particular family history and the importance and method of |
| 28 | checking for a red reflex under dim illumination, and |
| 29 | WHEREAS, parents, who have repeated eye contact with their |
| 30 | children, may perceive subtle abnormalities in the papillary |
| 31 | light reflex or eye alignment that may not be detectable in an |
| 32 | office setting, or they may observe an abnormality in |
| 33 | photographs of their children, either of which demands immediate |
| 34 | evaluation by an eye specialist, and |
| 35 | WHEREAS, on December 22, 2000, little Joey Bergsma lost his |
| 36 | valiant battle against retinoblastoma, but not before he won a |
| 37 | victory for countless children throughout our world who need no |
| 38 | longer face heartbreaking blindness and death resulting from |
| 39 | treatable eye diseases, NOW, THEREFORE, |
| 40 |
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| 41 | Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of |
| 42 | Florida: |
| 43 |
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| 44 | That April 5, 2005, is designated "Joey Bergsma |
| 45 | Retinoblastoma Awareness Day" in Florida, and all residents of |
| 46 | the state are urged to make themselves aware of the effects, |
| 47 | symptoms, and treatment of this and other childhood eye |
| 48 | diseases. |