It’s the same umbilical cord that helped to bring Jakob Bielskis a baby brother three weeks ago.
Now, that cord and its treasure trove of genetic material may bring Jakob a clear view of his younger sibling in the future, as doctors use cord-blood stem cells to reverse the blindness the older boy was born with.
That’s the hope of Jakob’s mom and dad, Dawn Villeneuve and Richard Bielskis, as they go through the first frazzled weeks with a new baby — like any infant, Jaxon Bielskis is wide awake at 1:30 a.m., and asleep during the day.
“He’s doing great — he can see already. He’s focusing, and everything,” said Villeneuve.
That wasn’t the case with Jakob, whose vacant eyes led his parents believe something was amiss, even in the first few weeks of his life.
They were right, and doctors confirmed Jakob was afflicted with a rare condition known as optic nerve hypoplasia, where the brain has failed to develop a connection to the eyes.
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