FOR THE FIRST TIME since his birth three years ago, Nathan Lewis is able to see the world around him.

The youngster, who was born with Peter's Anomaly, a rare congenital disorder in which the cornea of the eye may be scarred, and cataracts and glaucoma present, also walked for the first time just before Christmas – the greatest gift his parents Mark Taylor and Kerry-Ann Lewis could've received.

Doctors in Boston, Massachusetts successfully operated on his right eye in December last year and now he can see objects that are close up. His condition also slowed down his development to the point where he had to use a walker to get around. That is no longer the case since he started to see and he is now walking on his own.

Taylor, who spoke to the SUNDAY SUN last week via telephone from Boston, said he was satisfied with his son's progress.

"He is reacting fine to his new vision. I feel great. Everything he sees or discovers he asks: 'Mummy or Daddy what is that?' The doctors still have to go back in the eye to remove the stitches.

"Prior to the operation, they stabilised the retina so it wouldn't detach as is the case with his left eye. He now has to train the [right] eye because he keeps looking into his nose. Doctors said the muscles in that eye were not working before so we have to try to get him to work them now," Taylor explained.

Money concerns

Taylor and his girlfriend are staying with a family in Massachusetts. They are grateful to the many Barbadians who helped them from the time their son's story was highlighted, but they are running out of money and still have about two more months in Boston.

"We don't have to pay rent but we still give [our hosts] some moneyto help with the utility bills because there are three of us.

"The living expenses are really hard and in addition to that, we have to buy medication. When you don't have medical insurance in the US, health care can be very expensive. One of Nathan's eye drops cost US$98 and he takes about four different eye drops.

"We also have to pay taxi fare and to avoid that we take the train but that is proving to be costly too since he attends three different hospitals in Boston – the Mass Eye Care and Ear Infirmary, the Children's Hospital and the Mass General Hospital," he said.

Individuals interested in making donations to help this family stayin Boston so that little Nathan can finish his treatment there, cando so at the Bank of Nova Scotia, Broad Street, to account number 1000980. (MR)