Plea to help baby with rare eye disease

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A ROYAL Mail worker is racing against time to raise cash for a friend’s baby who needs an operation which could restore his sight.

Daniel Whelan is fundraising for six-week-old Bobby Brown who suffers from Peter’s Anomaly, a very rare cornea disorder which has left him blind in both eyes.

The only hope of restoring Bobby’s sight is if he undergoes a revolutionary artificial cornea transplant.

But the operation is only performed in America and has to be done before Bobby is two months old.

Daniel, 27, who is a manager at the Crewe Mail Centre on Weston Road, said: “We have been told in this country they do offer a donor transplant but the chances of getting that are highly unlikely – I believe you’ve got a better chance of winning the Lottery.

“So Bobby’s parents, Wes and Cath, searched into this on the internet and saw something about this doctor in New York who has performed these operations and has a 19 out of 19 success rate.”

The operation is going to cost £50,000. Bobby is due to be assessed by the American surgeon Professor James Aquavella on Friday and his family is hoping the first operation will take place on April 21 with the second a few days later.

Daniel said: “Bobby’s parents have even tried to re-mortgage their house to raise the money, so now we’re all doing as much as we can.”

Already collections have begun at the Weston Road sorting office and nearly £200 has been raised.

Bobby’s grandad, Bernard Franthetti, also used to work at the Crewe centre so there is a great deal of support from the Royal Mail workers.

Already several thousands of pounds have been raised by family at Warrington, friends and well-wishers but more is still needed.

Daniel said: “I’m going to have my chest and back waxed to raise money. I’ve never had anything like that done before and I’ve spoken to a couple of people who say it is so painful so I’m not looking forward to it, but it’s for a very good cause.”

Daniel will be undergoing his painful fundraiser next Wednesday at the Prestige Beauty Salon on Nantwich Road, Crewe.

Anybody who would like to donate towards Bobby’s fund can log on to http://www.justgiving.com/bobbybrownseyeop" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.