Born with a genetic eye disease, Tyler Wilfong knew from a young age he’d eventually lose his vision and, bit by bit, it became more difficult for him to see.
Then, he received a new gene therapy at Duke, and it changed his view. Then he learned that the Duke University Eye Center offers a gene therapy that could change the course of his disease. “There’s a gene that is important for the retina to work properly, and a mutation in that gene renders it not functional, and so what we try to do is to bring a healthy copy of that gene into the eye through an injection,” he said.
For Tyler, the therapy came at the perfect time. He can now see well enough to care for his newborn son and for him, and most of us, one of the most beautiful sights a parent can see is the face of their newborn baby.
Tyler says he can’t wait to watch his little boy grow. “It’s made of a world of difference,” he marveled. “Just simple tasks that you don’t even think of, like changing his clothes.”