TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD: Eight-Year-Old Gets Sight Back

TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD: Eight-Year-Old Gets Sight Back

An eight-year-old boy who was losing his vision because of a rare genetic disorder can now see clearly again, thanks to gene therapy. Sam was diagnosed right after birth with retinitis pigmentosa, which comes with symptoms including decreased vision at night or in low light, as well as loss of side vision.

Sam says he would bump into things at night because he couldn’t see, so his mother, Sarah Banon, did her research. She brought him to the U.S. to try gene therapy because it wasn’t yet approved where they live in Toronto, Canada. And it didn’t take long for her to see the changes in her son.

“About a week later, I noticed he could get dressed by himself,” she explains. And since then, the improvements have continued and she says he’s so much more confident now. But the best part for Sam? Seeing the stars at night. “I never saw stars before,” he says. “And I also never saw airplanes flying at night.”


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