Of all the Busby girls, one has been fighting a battle most viewers never fully understood — and winning it since she was barely a year old. Hazel Grace Busby, the redheaded quint with the curls and the grin, was born the smallest of five, weighing just two pounds. And from the very beginning, her eyes told a different story than her sisters’.
This is not breaking news. It is the full journey of one little girl’s eyes — surgery before she could walk properly, pink baby glasses, an eye patch, and the new pair she wore into fourth grade. It also includes the day a doctor’s office turned her away. Here is Hazel’s 11-year eye journey, and why fans call her the bravest Busby of all.
The Tiniest Baby in the Room
When Adam and Danielle Busby welcomed the first all-female quintuplets born in the United States in April 2015, Hazel Grace arrived as the smallest of the five — and the only quint born with congenital nystagmus, which makes the eyes move back and forth uncontrollably.
Danielle has been honest about it: according to reports, she has said there is no official cure, and that it is something Hazel was born with and will live with for life. Yet fans love Hazel because she never let it define her — goofy, independent, and positive even when things go wrong.
Surgery at Age One — and the Pink Glasses
Hazel was still a toddler when her journey took its scariest turn. In the Season 2 episode “A Quint in Crisis,” she underwent eye muscle surgery at around one year old, to steady her eyes and give her vision the best possible start.
After surgery came the glasses fans will never forget: Hazel’s first pair were pink, with a strap around the back of her head. They became her signature look. The surgery helped, but it did not end the story — Hazel would need regular checkups for years.
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At age four, Hazel graduated to what the family called her “big-girl” glasses — a red pair she wore with pride. Then came the eye patch: during Season 8, she wore a patch over one eye for hours a day to strengthen the weaker eye. Fans flooded the family’s posts with praise.
There was one more scare — her doctor warned a second surgery might be needed. But in the Season 8 episode “Busby Beach Babes,” the eye doctor delivered the verdict fans had prayed for: a second surgery was unlikely to ever be needed.
New Glasses, Same Fighter
Hazel’s story did not stop when the cameras slowed down. In August 2024, Danielle shared that Hazel was due for new glasses, joking that her blue frames had “seen better days.” The new pair arrived just in time for fourth grade. In February 2025, Danielle shared a photo from another checkup: Hazel in the observation chair with dilated eyes, having done, in her mom’s words, amazingly well.
The Day a Doctor’s Office Turned Hazel Away
There is one chapter that still makes fans angry — and it had nothing to do with her eyes. In August 2025, Danielle revealed that Hazel had been turned away from a long-scheduled eye appointment. According to Parade’s report, the family arrived — appointment booked for months — only to be told the doctor no longer wanted Hazel as a patient, reportedly because of the family’s public profile.
Danielle was furious, and she did not hide it. According to the report, she said she had no camera crew with her and understood the office’s privacy rules. Fans rallied instantly. The family has not publicly named a new eye doctor since, and fans should not speculate about Hazel’s private medical care beyond what her parents share.
So be honest: which Hazel moment got you first? The pink baby glasses? The eye patch era? The new fourth-grade frames? Or that thumbs-up grin? Drop your pick below — and tell us why Hazel Basil is, in your house, the bravest Busby of them all.
