EXCLUSIVE: A blind Donegal schoolgirl has made remarkable progress after having her first round of stem cell treatment in China.
Little Keri Kelly from Buncrana was told by doctors that it may take months or even years for her to notice any improvement in her sight if any at all.
But mum Tracey told Donegaldaily.com how Keri, 9, has shown remarkable progress after her first round of treatment at the Beike Clinic in Qingdao.
“Before she could only see the shape of someone’s hand if it was an inch from their face. But now she can see your hand as far away as ten inches which is a huge step,” revealed Tracey.
However Tracey said she is not getting carried away with the surprise early success of the treatment.
“We are delighted because any improvement shows that we are doing the right thing and we have some chance of Keri being able to see.
“The doctors have earned us that it could take between six and eight months before we see any more big improvements.
“We just have to keep going and continue to get more treatments to see what we can do for Keri,” she said.
The news will be welcomed by the people of Buncrana and Co Donegal who raised more than €40,000 to send Keri to China for the treatment.
Tracey said that Keri could never have been given the chance to see again but for the kindness of people.
“I cannot put into words how thankful we are to everyone. Hopefully now people can see that all their hard work and kindness may be paying off,” she said.
Keri, who has been blind since birth after being born with optic nerve hypoplasia which means her optic nerves have never grown.
Tracey revealed how Keri had to have a general anaesthetic and had to sit still for six hours while she had a lumbar puncture.
“She was very good and has been all along. She is so brave. The only thing she was worried about was that she couldn’t get anything to it,” laughed Tracey.
Tracey and Keri will stay in China until the end of the month where Keri will receive more stem cell treatment.
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