Two-year-old Samuel (Sam) Walsh has severe developmental delay, epilepsy and is also blind.

His parents are hoping to raise €35,000 to bring Sam to China for special stem cell treatment to cure his blindness.

His mother, Pamela Horgan, told the Waterford News & Star that Sam was born a happy and healthy baby. When he was three months old disaster struck.

“I left him with his Dad David to attend an appointment. About 7.45pm I received a phone call from David to say that Sam was sick and to meet them at the hospital.”

When she arrived at WRH Pamela was told that her son had stopped breathing for a number of minutes. A neighbour had helped revive him before the ambulance arrived.

A CT scan showed that Sam had suffered a bleed to his brain and had to be transferred to Crumlin Children’s Hospital.

“We were told to say our goodbyes to him before we set off on the journey.

We drove up separately to the ambulance and every magpie I saw on his own I kept thinking the worst,” Pamela said.

Sam spent weeks in intensive care and it was there his parents discovered he was blind.

After a number of trips between WRH and Crumlin, Pamela said things were finally looking up for her youngest son.

“He was in good form, smiling and kicking his legs,” she said.

But another blow was to come for the Mooncoin family.

“In September 2007 I was in visiting him one morning and doctors asked if David could come in with me after lunch to meet the team of doctors. I had Sam on my lap and was playing with him and they told us the bleed hadn’t stopped and it was dripping like a tap the whole time. We were told Sam would only have until the end of October. I had to run off, I couldn’t listen to it; it was awful. I would-n’t wish news like that on my worst enemy.”

Trying to deal with the news was hard for the mum of three other children, Dillon, 10, Zoe, six and Adam, three.

“It was a shock to even find out I was pregnant, but once you have them you wouldn’t give them back for the world. My mam and aunt looked after them a lot and me and David set up home in the hospital.”

When the end of October drew near Pamela said it was unbearable.