Virginia Toddler Undergoing Stem Cell Treatment in Hopes of Curing Blindness

WASHINGTON - Some medical researchers believe stem cell treatments can provide cures for a variety of medical conditions that include Parkinson's disease, cancer and even blindness.

But one Virginia toddler is undergoing stem cell treatment in hopes of being able to see one day.

Summer Grace Allison was just two weeks old when her grandmother, Beth, who happens to be a nurse, knew something was wrong.

“She made no eye contact at all. She sometimes seemed she was in a trance,” said Beth Allison.

At four months old, her eyes were twitching. Her mother Mandy was devastated.

“The only reaction I had was to break down because it was enough having a baby at a young age but [also] having a blind baby at a young age,” said Mandy Grace.

Doctors diagnosed Summer Grace with Septo-optic Dysplasia. They said she is blind and there is nothing they could do.

But Beth didn't give up hope. She began researching the condition and came across a website for Beike Biotechnology, an American company which advertises a controversial therapy done in China involving stem cells from umbilical cord blood.

Beth saw reports on other children with the same condition who were eventually able to see.

They raised $50,000 they needed to travel to China last December to get the treatments, which involved eight separate infusions of the stem cells into Summer Grace's spine.

“It was pretty traumatic sometimes but I knew it was for the best and I tried to keep in my head the whole time,” said Mandy Allison.

After the fifth treatment, Beth and Mandy noticed something.

“She followed the light. She saw it. My heart just melted,” said Mandy Allison.

When Summer Grace returned home to Virginia, she began to walk, she held her head up higher and she reacted to light.

“She's very happy, has a lot of personality. Before, she was not so brave and not willing to do things,” said Mandy Allison.

But she still has a ways to go. The Allisons are now trying to raise money to make two more trips to China to continue the treatment. That is what they're told it will take. And they're ready for the fight.

“I believe that through the miracle of stem cells that Summer is going to see,” said Beth Allison. “I want for her what every grandmother wants for her grandchild.

The stem cell therapy Beike Biotechnology performs has not been approved in the United States. But the company says almost 90 percent of their patients - with a variety of medical conditions - have noted improvements.

The Allisons are now organizing fundraisers to pay for their trips back to China.

To make a donation, go to www.sightforsummergrace.com/