Source: Daily Post

A BLIND toddler has flown 8,000 miles to China hoping doctors will restore some of his sight.

Joshua Clark, aged 21 months, from Caernarfon, was born with optic nerve hypoplasia (ONH) and is completely blind. His parents, Joanna and Anthony, were told no treatment was available.

But they hope cutting-edge stem cell therapy in China could let some light into his life.

An appeal to raise £40,000 to send Joshua was launched last October and with the help of Daily Post readers was quickly reached.

Joshua flew to Shanghai last weekend with his parents and grandmother Gill and is now settled at the Zhejiang Xiaoshan Hospital in Hangzhou, about three hours west of the coastal city.

They are keeping in touch with family and friends by sending e-mails, calling regularly on Skype, an online telephone system, and Joanna is also writing a blog.

She said: “We are calling my dad, grandmother and brothers at home via Skype which means we can see them and they can see us too, which is really clever.

“Wouldn’t it be fantastic if one day during this stay in China that Josh might get to see them on Skype as well.”

In her blog Joanna said the treatment started earlier this week and Joshua, is “doing very well.”

“Josh had his first stem cell treatment via an intravenous tube.

“Once they found a vein in his foot they attached a small clear bag with yellow fluid inside, which was the magic stem cells.

“The bag contains between 10-15 million stem cells, and took around 30 minutes to travel down the drip into Josh.

“He will have further infusions every four days.”

Joanna hopes the treatment will allow Joshua to detect light, see colours and objects and be able to tell whether it is night or day.

In all Joshua will have eight sets of stem cell treatments and spend six weeks in the hospital.

He is also having physiotherapy and electric wave therapy to help strengthen his leg muscles for crawling and walking, “He is doing very well. His appetite and sleep have been incredibly good since he’s been there, better than at home,” Joanna said.

On his return home he will have to spend an hour a day in an oxygen chamber for a year to help the stem cell treatment.

This was delivered to the family home in North Road, Caernarfon just before they left for China.

Joshua’s grandfather, Kevin, added: “Joanna and Anthony made their judgement to go to China based on a balanced view of medical advice and human instinct.

“I am keeping my fingers crossed that little Josh will be able to see something before too long.

“Without any treatment, there was no hope, so nobody should blame any parents for looking for a magic bullet that may have a positive effect.”

Two girls from Northern Ireland have just returned from the Chinese hospital with “pleasing results”.

One of the girls, three-year-old Dakota, who had previously been unable to identify shapes and objects, can now recognise faces.

erylcrump