Jul 3, 2008 7:05 am US/Mountain
Colorado Girl Heads To China In Search Of Sight
WELLINGTON, Colo. (CBS4) ―
A Colorado teenager and her mom leave for China Friday for a medical procedure that will hopefully restore the girl's sight for the first time in her life.
Macie Morse, 15, was born with Optic Nerve Hypoplasia. Doctors said she would never see.
Her mother kept researching and looking for answers.
She found one in an experimental stem cell treatment in China that promises to restore some of Macie's vision.
The entire community of Wellington helped make the trip happen. Thirty-thousand dollars was raised in 3 months.
"It's indescribable," Macie said. "I can't thank people enough can't put into words what means to me."
She is also giving back by helping the family of Kade Medrano, 10-months-old of Longmont, raise money for a similar trip and treatment. Medrano suffers from the same disease.
The experimental treatment involves injecting donated umbilical cord stem cells into the spinal cord to regenerate her optic nerves.
The trip to China will last 5 weeks.
Macie's mother said 15 other children have gone through the treatment and all have had some sight restored.
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