A South Derbyshire youngster is currently in New York for vital surgery after doctors there saved his sight.
One-year-old Oliver Francis flew out to America for his second lot of surgery on Monday, November 6, less than a year after his last trip to have a small tumour removed from his eye lid. The tumour, called a haemangioma, is causing his eyelid to droop and threatening the sight in the eye.
This time Oliver is having a skin graft to extend his upper eyelid. This is his second trip to America to have surgery to help his eyesight, after jetting out in November last year.
The then seven-month-old baby, from Midway, was born nine weeks early. Oliver had developed capillary haemangiomas, a non-cancerous tumour consisting of an abnormal overgrowth of blood vessels, which is common in premature babies.
It was not until the regular nine-week check-up in July, that he was taken to hospital because his eye had closed off because of the tumour.
He was put on a 0.1ml dose of propranolol, a medication used to treat high blood pressure, irregular heart rates and capillary haemangioma.
The hospital said that the use of propranolol when treating capillary haemangioma was shown to be 'safe and effective'.
During the last appointment at the hospital, Oliver's mother, Natasha Francis was told to increase the dosage of the baby's propranolol to 0.26ml twice daily and to 'come back in six weeks'.
At the time, Natasha said that she had lost all faith in the doctors and at the hospital who were ignoring her pleas for a different method of treatment.
This was when Little Baby Face Foundation, based in New York, a charity which provides facial reconstruction surgery to children around the world with facial deformities, were contacted by Natasha.
She filled in an application to the foundation in August, of 2016, and by November, she was flying out to the American city with Oliver, where he had the tumour removed from his right eye.
More than a year later, Oliver is back in America having surgery to extend his eyelid after part was removed on his last visit.
His mother, Natasha explained: "Oliver has had a different surgery this time. Last time he had his haemangioma removed to save his sight. This time it was an upper eye lid skin graft to extend his eye lid.
"When they removed his haemangioma he was left with very little eyelid to play with but it saved his sight. He has had a piece of skin from behind his ear taken and trimmed and placed on his upper eye lid.
"After monthly contact with the surgeons and the Little Baby Face Foundation through email since our last surgery in November 2016, they noticed that Oliver needed a skin graft because he was sleeping with his eye open at night.
"We found out in September that we needed to come back to New York for surgery and we were just waiting for it all to be arranged. We had four weeks' notice of travel plans and surgery arrangements. All paid for by the Little Baby Face Foundation.
"Hopefully, this should be Oliver's last surgery. But if it isn't Oliver will be looked after at the Little Baby Face Foundation and by Dr Waner until he is 21. So if he needs anything further of his eye they will pay for it all."
Oliver is once again at the Manhattan Eye Ear and Throat hospital on 267 Street, in central Manhattan.
The surgery and flights to the city were paid for by the Little Baby Face Foundation, and his mother, Natasha has expressed her appreciation for the charity, without who the surgery would not have been possible.
"Having visited New York twice to have surgery for Oliver; surgery that wouldn't have been considered by the NHS, this makes me the luckiest person. My husband and I owe the Little Baby Face Foundation and the doctors and surgeons so many thanks.
"The work that they tirelessly achieve by raising vital funds through donations from the public and companies around the USA and other countries is beyond belief. I have no words strong enough and a thanks does not seem enough.
"They find children from all over the world, or families on the off chance find them. They pay to bring them to New York to visit the best specialists in their field to give life changing surgeries for free.
"Children that without the Little Baby Face Foundations help would have a lifetime of hiding or medication and hospital appointments.
"They've helped children in the deepest depths of poverty in places people have never even seen or heard of and they change not just their birth defects but they change the lives of all the family.
"I urge everyone and anyone for donations no matter how small. As every penny counts towards changing a child's life, the little baby face foundation solely rely on public donations and the waiting list for children is in the hundreds."
Anybody interested in donating to the Little Baby Face Foundation can do so online at the charities dedicated website online at http://www.littlebabyface.org/donate/ .
What is a capillary haemangiomas?
A capillary haemangioma is a benign tumour caused by an abnormal overgrowth of tiny bloody vessels. Typically, they will not be visible at birth, but will gradually appear within the first few months of a child being born.
If one appears, like with Oliver, on an eyelid, it can affect vision as it causes the eyelids to droop, blocking the ability to see.
Burton and Derby hospital merger
Most case of haemangiomas do not require treatment, and reduce in size over time, but in some instances propranolol is given to help reduce the size of the tumour.
Traditionally surgery to remove tumours from around the eye is just for small growths that are located under the skin surface.
