Source: East Kilbride News

GENEROUS guisers at a Village restaurant turned Hallowe’en into a fundraising night for a baby boy who needs specialist treatment to restore his sight.

Guests at Spice rolled out the welcome mat to mum Natalie Veldon and her little boy Rio whose only hope of regaining his vision hinges on pioneering stem cell therapy.

Eight-month old Rio was born with septo-optic dysplasia, a rare condition which means his optic nerve hasn’t developed.

Just one in 50,000 children are affected by the disease and although some have sight in one eye, little Rio is sightless in both eyes.

But Rio’s doting mum hasn’t given up hope of her little boy being able to see one day and she has begun a campaign to raise the £30,000 she will need to take Rio to China for treatment.

Natalie, 27, said: “It breaks my heart to think he’ll be blind all his life. I know there is a chance the treatment won’t work but if I don’t try and raise funds to get us out there, I’d regret it forever.”

Rio was eight-weeks-old before Natalie suspected something was wrong but medics told her there was nothing to worry about.

However, she was not convinced and it was only after she asked for Rio to be given further tests that his condition came to light.

Natalie, from Airdrie, explained: “Although he turned his head towards me when I spoke, it was the noise that was attracting his attention. He has beautiful brown eyes which look absolutely fine, but while he was normal in every other way, he wasn’t reacting to bright colours.

“One day we were in Ayr. It was a sunny, bright day and I was taking photographs of him. He was in is pram and should have been squinting in the sunlight, but he seemed to be looking right through it.

“This time when I went back to my GP, I asked him to refer Rio to an eye specialist.”

The little boy was admitted to Yorkhill Hospital and tests revealed the optic nerves were not working. Unfortunately there is no cure but Natalie has since discovered that stem cell work in China has produced some positive results.

She made contact with a family in Northern Ireland whose daughter Dakota Clarke has the same condition. She travelled to China for treatment and results have amazed her family. The little girl can now focus on objects and although it will be some time before they know how successful the treatment has been, Dakota’s experience has filled Natalie with hope.

When Spice owner Abrar Saleem read about Rio’s plight he was only too happy to help and on Thursday last week Spice was bustling with local people dressed in an array of costumes from Desperate Dan to Wonder Woman.

Abrar said: “It was a brilliant night and we managed to raise £500 towards our target of £2000. We are grateful to everyone who contributed on the night for this worthy cause. Hopefully Natalie can raise the money she needs to take Rio to China for treatment.”

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