Source: KGET TV 17

A young man stricken with what's best known as elephant man's disease, could have his sight restored within a matter of days. It's called Neurofibromatosis and it can affect the optic nerve.

Now, thanks to breakthrough stem cell therapy in China, this man, with family ties to Bakersfield, could see clearly for the first time in his life.

"If you are about as far away as you are now, four feet, I can see your face, but I can't see like major detail," says Kyle Dobbins, 23. "I can just see it all there."

He may not look it, but Dobbins is legally blind. "I don't see things the same way. I want to be normal," said Dobdins, who has Neurofibromatosis. "I want to drive. I want to get to school without taking four hours to get transportation."

At age three, his family realized something was wrong. His actions were not normal and he cried constantly.

"I had a hard time because he cried a lot and sometimes I would have to hold him down, but i think it was because he couldn't see," said Dee Taylor, Kyle's Grandmother.

But that's not all. Kyle's parents took him to Children's Hospital in Madera, where a doctor diagnosed him with a rare form of Neurofibromatosis, better known as the elephant man disease.

As seen in the classic 1981 film, large tumors are formed, physically deforming and stifling normal growth.
Kyle's tumor was rare. It was large and inside, wrapping around his brain.

"The symptoms occur early in life, but some of them will have a lot of skin lesions like the elephant man," said Neurologist, Dr. Antonia Chalmers. "Some will have the skin and nothing else, but it affects the optic nerve."

Kyle's tumor continued to grow, literally squeezing out his sight. Despite that, Kyle continued to learn by any means, continuing his education at College of the Sequoias in Visalia.

"I use my memory a lot. Most people take notes, but I just use memory and go over the books on digital display," said Dobbins.

It was on the internet that Kyle learned about a new stem cell therapy in China that reportedly restored the sight of a three year old girl in the U.K. The treatment takes stem cells from an umbilical cord and injects them into a patient's forehead.

"There is significant advancement in the treatment of tumors, but you have to remember, this is a brain tumor. It's going to help the Neurofibromatosis, especially the ones with the brain tumor," said Dr. Chalmers.

Kyle saved for nearly a year and left Monday for China. A trip that he hopes will improve his life through sight.

"Everything. I want to be able to see Colorado in the winter. I want to see what it's like to be out in town. I want to see the stars. I want to see everything," added Dobbins.

This therapy in China is controversial, but the procedure was actually pioneered here in the U.S.