Congenital glaucoma hasn’t stopped Noah White, 21, from thriving. Thanks to his care team at Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Medicine — Harry Quigley, M.D., Judith Goldstein, O.D., and Yassine Daoud, M.D. — White knows he’s in good hands when it comes to maintaining his vision.

“They’re all like family now because of how often I’ve been seeing them and because they all help to make sure I have what I need and all the tools that I need in order to be successful,” he says. “I can’t help but appreciate them because of all that they do and how much they care about me.”

As an infant, White was diagnosed with congenital glaucoma — a type of glaucoma that occurs in infants when there are incorrect or underdeveloped drainage canals in the eye during the prenatal period — as well as Peters Anomaly, a rare congenital disorder causing central corneal opacity due to abnormal fetal development of the eye’s anterior segment. When he was 3, White had his right eye removed due to complications from a keratoprosthesis, or manufactured cornea. His left eye has limited vision and requires lifelong care. White says he can see things up close, but detail gets increasingly difficult with minute distance. What used to be a person’s face fades into a blur of their skin tone, only contrasted in color by attachments such as bright lipstick, facial hair or a pair of glasses.

Since around age 2, White has seen glaucoma specialist Quigley, the A. Edward Maumenee Professor of Ophthalmology, who focuses on White’s eye pressure and looks for anomalies that may be present in the eye.

When White was in elementary school, he began seeing Goldstein, the Dr. Arnall Patz Endowed Professor for the Lions Low Vision Center and the center’s medical director, to help manage the sight he has, including maintaining his glasses prescription and testing his visual acuity. Through the center, he’s also been able to test up-and-coming assistive technology, which is something he has enjoyed doing. Recently, he tested a pair of glasses that could detect whether something was hot, and provided feedback on how well they functioned.

Around 2013, White met Daoud, a cornea specialist, who evaluates the calcium buildup in White’s eye and monitors his corneal health. White describes Daoud’s approach as honest and straightforward, which he appreciates as a patient. But beyond the eye checkup routine, Daoud has taken White under his wing. At each appointment, White says Daoud takes ample time to catch up with him and ask about his life, how he had been doing in school and activities outside of school. Daoud would help hold White accountable in school, asking him to bring in report cards, and helped empower him when he was feeling down.

White also describes Daoud as a mentor who has provided advice on social interactions, adaptive technology and how to be an advocate for himself. One summer, Daoud helped White with the process to become a summer junior volunteer at Wilmer’s Maurice Bendann Surgical Pavilion.

At a recent appointment with Daoud, White came with his college diploma from George Mason University in hand. Graduating with degrees in foreign language (Spanish) as well as global affairs, economy and management, he hopes to find a finance job or a job researching policy-related issues in the government, all while improving his Spanish language skills.

White says he’s appreciative to have someone like Daoud on his side. “I’m really grateful for him, because I don’t have many people who are able to give the advice that he gives,” he says.

Daoud, an associate professor of ophthalmology and the ophthalmology chair of Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center, says White is incredibly resourceful and full of life. “It’s as if he owns the world,” he says.

“The patient is always more than an eye. They have a story, they have ambitions and they have a vision for who they are,” Daoud says. “Noah is one of those people who refuses to have his eye define who he is or what he can do.”