Parents of 'happy-go-lucky' tot born without eyes fundraising for his treatment

Meet Tate Walker, a one-year-old who suffers from anophthalmia.

It’s a rare condition that results in a baby being born without one or both eyes and often smaller eye sockets too.

That’s why little Tate is set to undergo tough eye socket-stretching treatment, in a bid to help him get prosthetics fitted – but his treatment will be expensive and his parents are looking for help to pay his medical bills.

At first, doctors didn’t think there was anything wrong with Tate’s sight, and assured parents Jahavier Walker, 25, and Ryan Walker, 29, that what just looked like swelling would go down within 12 hours.

But even though they expected that was when Tate would finally open his eyes, 24 hours passed without change.

It was then that a specialist diagnosed him with anophthalmia, which affects one in 100,000 babies.

Dad-of-one Ryan said the news felt like a ‘punch in the gut’., and was a total shock, since all the scans and blood work prior to his son’s birth were clear.

Ryan, from Reidsville, North Carolina, US, said: ‘It was such a shock when we found out.

‘All of his pictures and ultrasounds came back clear. Nothing showed up on any of the scans, nothing on the bloodwork.

‘He was a little swollen when he came out and they said that it would dissolve itself within the next 10 to 12 hours.

‘They said that once he calmed down, he would probably open up his eyes. The swelling went down but he was never able to open up his eyes.

‘At 9pm the following night, they gave us the news and that he had been born without eyes.

‘It was like a punch in the gut. We didn’t know anything about this [and] hadn’t heard anything ever about anything like this.

‘It was a whirlwind of emotions. We couldn’t ask any questions because we didn’t know any questions to ask.

‘It was very difficult to hear, especially because it was so unexpected.

‘He’s a happy-go-lucky baby. I’d say 95% of the time he’s laughing, giggling, just wanting to play all the time.’

Unfortunately, Tate’s treatment is expensive in the US.

Ryan said: ‘Right now, me and my wife carry him through our jobs. We’re having to pay extra out of pocket for medical insurance for him, therapies, doctor’s visits and other visits.

‘The extra money that we’re able to save, we have to put towards Tate’s treatment – the therapies and the hospital bills when he gets admitted.

‘They want his eye sockets to be a certain size for the prosthetics, so that’s what we’re working on now.

‘We’re just trying to learn more about his condition as parents. That way, we can better ourselves and help him in any way that he needs.

‘Just because he’s blind doesn’t mean that he can’t live a regular lifestyle.

‘It’s a little bit stressful, but I wouldn’t trade a bit of it because that’s my son and I would do anything in the world for him to make him better.’

You can find out more about Tate and see the Walkers fundraising page via GoFundMe.

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