LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – A third-grader from Mount Dora is getting a new look on life after receiving a new treatment to cure his blindness.
Creed Pettit, 9, has been legally blind most of his life.
Last Wednesday, Creed received the gene therapy in his right eye. By Friday, his mother Sarah Pettit said he was seeing much more clearly.
"Asking what different things are. The other day he asked what an escalator was and he's ridden on escalators so many times, but for him to ask what it was is really neat," said Pettit.
At the end of last year, the Food and Drug Administration approved Luxturna, a gene therapy to help reverse the effects of blindness. The therapy is specific to Creed's condition.
When it was approved last year, the family was told that the cost would run about $500,000 an eye.
The family said that between insurance and donations, the costs haven't been too overwhelming.
His mother Sarah said that she made it her mission to get results and help her son.
“I can’t believe it and I’m so proud that he’s gone, he did this and he’s been such a trouper, now we can breathe," said Pettit.
Creed said that he's excited to see a rainbow for the first time, the fireworks on the Fourth of July and Christmas lights next December.
"He's starting to see all different things. We haven't even had to turn any lights on in the house. He's eating dinner without lights. He's reading his books without the lights," said Pettit.
Creed is scheduled to have his left eye corrected on Wednesday, with vision improvements expected by Friday.