Source: Thisisgloucestershire

BLIND great grandmother Dorothy Leach couldn't see a thing when she lost her eyesight overnight.

But now Dorothy of Hardwicke, can make out faces, shapes and colours for the first time in more than a year after pioneering stem-cell treatment.

The 76-year-old jetted off to China in September to have the treatment which was paid for after a successful £16,000 fundraising campaign.

When she arrived back in the UK on Wednesday, she could see again.

Dorothy said: "When I got back to Heathrow Airport I could see such a lot. It was unbelievable. The other day I could see a crow on the fence and had to check with people that I could actually see it but I did see it. It is amazing.

"The doctors said it could take another six months to a year before my sight gets as good as it will be, but it is much better already. It was definitely worth it"

Dorothy's plight began when she woke up one morning in February last year to discover she had gone blind.

She was diagnosed with giant cell arteritis, an inflammatory disease of blood vessels.

Doctors in the UK said they could not restore her sight, but the Chinese hospital said it offered pioneering stem cell treatment that could restore her vision.

She went through a course of daily wave therapy and acupuncture for 43 days before arriving back home to her husband Percival in Springfield.

Dorothy's main aim is to see her great grandson Chris. He is now two years old but she has never seen him, but for the first time her dream may now come true.

The mum-of-four, grandmother-of-seven and great-grandmother of two, said: "I am still hoping to see Chris.

"As soon as his parents can get here I am hoping to see him. They live on the army camp in Wimbledon so it might be a little while, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed."

Since we first told Dorothy's story last November, hundreds of readers have been doing their bit to help raise money.

They have organised parachute jumps, bingo evenings and fun days to raise the money to send Dorothy on her trip.

Dorothy added: "I am so pleased that everyone helped to raise this money. It is so wonderful that everybody did it for me. I really couldn't have done it without them."

Dorothy's daughter Vicky, who went China with her mum for moral support, also wanted to thank fundraisers in Gloucestershire.

She said: "I just want to say a big thank you to all the people who have helped with jumble sales, sponsored events and things like that for us.

"Mum sight is so much better than it was. We are really pleased with it so far and hope it will get better over the next few months as the stem cells start to work."