The parents of a baby born without eyes have shared their son’s story and are fundraising for his treatment. Tate has Anophthalmia, a birth defect which causes babies to be born without one or both eyes.
Baby Tate was born on December 5 2021 without both of his eyes. At first, doctors didn’t realise there was anything wrong with Tate’s sight. They assured his parents Jahavier Walker, 25, and Ryan Walker, 29, that what just looked like swelling would go down within 12 hours. Tate was eventually diagnosed by a specialist with Anophthalmia, which affects one in 100,000 babies.
Tate was born in North Carolina, USA and his family are pleading for help with medical bills and their regular bills while Tate is in the ICU in Brenners Hospital for Children.
Parents of baby born without eyes share fundraiser
Tate is set to undergo tough eye socket-stretching treatment, in a bid to help him get prosthetics fitted. But Tate’s grandfather Tyler revealed on GoFundMe that little Tate is back in the ICU.
He wrote: “Ryan and Jahavier have not left his side. Ryan is a union worker and does not receive any pay when he is out with Tate. Jahavier is running low on her personal time off. We are asking, if you can, to please donate to help them in this time. If you are unable to donate, please say a special prayer for baby Tate and his family.”
He also shared that Tate was born with the SOX2 gene: “He also was born with Sox2. The SOX2 gene provides instructions for making a protein that plays a critical role in the formation of many different tissues and organs during embryonic development. The SOX2 protein is especially important for the development of the eyes. Tate is a wonderful gift from God and we thank him every day for Tate.”
Parents hope to raise thousands for ‘happy-go-lucky’ Tate
In an interview with Metro, Tate’s parents Ryan and Jahavier described Tate as a “happy-go-lucky” baby. They shared: “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.” Ryan added that they have paid “out of pocket” for Tate’s treatment so far.
He shared: “The extra money that we’re able to save, we have to put towards Tate’s treatment. They want his eye sockets to be a certain size for the prosthetics, so that’s what we’re working on now.”
I would do anything in the world for him to make him better.
Tate’s father shared his hopes for baby Tate to live a “regular lifestyle” and said he “would do anything in the world for him to make him better.”
The fundraiser has raised $2,150 (£1,726) at the time of writing. You can donate to baby Tate’s GoFundMe here.
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