Source: Gulf Live

(AP) — MOBILE, Ala. - Two summers ago, when Cayden Baggett was diagnosed with optic nerve hypoplasia, his family was told that the 4-month-old boy would eventually go blind.

Devastated, Cayden's mother and grandmother sat in their car outside the doctor's office that hot July day for what seemed like hours.

"We just broke down," said Cayden's mother, Leanna Carr.

Cayden, now 2, can see light and dark and little else because his optic nerves never fully developed.

Despite the word of doctors that there was no cure, Leanna's mother, Carmie Carr, refused to accept that fate without exploring every option.

Late one night at the family's Gulf Shores home, after three weeks of fruitless Internet searches, Carmie Carr prayed for direction. Then, she clicked on a new search engine.

Just like that, she said, Beike Biotech appeared on the screen.

The Chinese biotechnical firm offers experimental treatments for children with optic nerve hypoplasia by injecting them with stem cells taken from umbilical cord blood.

"I couldn't go to sleep that night," Carmie Carr said of her excitement at the discovery.

Dozens of personal stories posted online by Beike attest to the success of the treatments, which are not offered in the U.S.

Stem cells, according to the National Institutes of Health, have the potential to develop into several different cell types. In some tissues, they serve as a kind of internal repair system, dividing essentially without limit to replenish other cells.

In recent years, controversy has surrounded the use of embryonic stem cells, which are collected from human embryos.

Dr. Sean Hu, chairman of Beike Biotechnology, was interviewed by National Public Radio recently about his stem cell treatments. He told NPR that about 70 percent of patients treated at his clinics in China have seen improvements.

The day after discovering the biotech firm two years ago, the Carrs began the application process for Cayden, eventually taking him to Birmingham several times for testing in order to fulfill Beike's requirements.

Notified that Cayden was a candidate for the procedure, the family started looking for ways to pay for the trip. For six treatments, Cayden must stay in China for about a month at a cost of more than $50,000.

First, the family placed fundraising buckets in some local businesses. After two of the containers were stolen, they decided to keep only one at the family's ice cream shop.

A benefit account has been set up in Cayden's name at Regions Bank. The family is also making plans to sell rubber bracelets to raise money for the trip, which they hope to take in November.

"If it means mortgaging the house, we'll do it," Cayden's grandfather, Ray Carr, said last week.

Carmie Carr, 48, said she wants to create a foundation to assist other visually impaired children pay for experimental treatments to improve their eyesight. "I feel like I've been led to do this," she said. "I think God gave us Cayden for a reason."

While Cayden's language skills have been delayed because of his vision difficulties, the blond-headed boy is learning to walk. He loves to listen to music and snuggles against his mother when drinking from a sippy cup.

His grandmother held his hands a few days ago, helping him navigate around the coffee table in their home.

Leanna, 21, looked on, talking about caring for her special needs son during the day, then spending evenings working at her parents' Dippin' Dots shop.

The bucket on the counter, featuring a photo of Cayden, gives details about his young life.

Leanna Carr said that she thanks customers who drop coins and cash into the container, explaining that all the money will be used for giving her son a chance at sight.

While she was skeptical about the experimental treatments at first, the more she has learned, she said, the more hope she has.

"Maybe one day my baby can see," she said. "I would love for him to look at me."

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Information from: Press-Register, http://www.al.com/mobileregister