Henllan mum's delight at son's eye treatment

Aug 13 2008 By David Simister

A HENLLAN mother has spoken of her joy this week after a new treatment worked miracles for her son’s eye condition.

Eight-year-old Luke Holt, who suffers from a cyst on his brain, underwent a new operation at Liverpool’s Alder Hey hospital, funded by a mystery donor who heard mother Emma’s pleas on a radio broadcast.

"The cyst has been reduced to nearly nothing, with only tiny specks of it remaining. We’re hugely grateful to the man or woman who made the donation, as the treatment wouldn’t have been possible otherwise" said Emma.

"We can leave the specks there as they are but there’s a high chance that the cyst will grow back again if we do, so it’s either a choice of leaving it there and risking it or having one last operation to remove the last specks."

In May this year, Your Vale reported on the predicament Emma and Luke originally faced, with the Holt family unable to afford the cost of an operation to have dye applied to Luke’s cyst to shrink it.

After a failed operation in January this year, Luke’s cyst swelled to the size of an apple and Emma was left with just days to make an agonising choice between years of another type of operation or risking blindness in one of Luke’s eyes.

"After that first operation in January, it had also shrunk to nearly nothing, but it grew back completely in just six weeks. That’s why we know that if we just leave the tiny fragments of the cyst left by the latest operation, we know they probably will grow back again."

Your Vale exclusively reported last month that - after an appeal the family made on a BBC Radio Wales show - an anonymous donor had offered to foot the cost of the newer dye treatment, making the generation via the hospital so that their identity remained a mystery.

Since last week’s operation, Luke has seen his standard of life improve dramatically, but Emma says he will still need to undergo one last operation to get rid of the condition.

"He doesn’t like the operations but he knows it’s for his own good" said Emma.

"It’s been very stressful because of the money problems but hopefully after all this Luke will be able to enjoy his birthday and do all the things his friends do."