A BUCKLEY family is fundraising to help their ‘little hero’ to be able to walk.

Oliver Saunders was born 10-weeks premature in February 2019 and spent the first 16 weeks of his life between hospital units.

While in intensive care, Oliver suffered a bleed on his brain and was diagnosed with a genetic abnormality, DYRK1A syndrome, that causes duplication and a deletion on part of chromosome 21.

The one-year-old was also diagnosed with bilateral anterior segment dysgenesis - a severe eye condition in both eyes.

Oliver’s parents explained to the Leader how his eyes did not develop normally during pregnancy, the result being he has smaller than usual eyes and his corneas are cloudy rather than clear and is now registered blind.

Dad Dan Saunders and mum Nicole Cruse say their son has already overcome several challenges at the start of his little life – that some thought were too big for him to handle.

The family is now fundraising to be able to help their son face his next challenge in learning to crawl and walk - even if that is with some form of assistance.

Dan said: “We are very grateful and overwhelmed by the support we have already received from the fundraising page. The community spirit and willingness that people have shown to help is amazing, especially considering COVID.

“We set up the fundraiser page as a central point for people to donate to once we were able to do some sort of activities. Next year we are looking at golf days and sponsored walks. Friends of ours have done a few little raffles to raise money which is great.

Glam Beauty have organised a raffle with hundreds of pounds worth of prizes donated by local businesses. Bake No Mistake will also be raffling off a cake in aid of the cause too.

Oliver has physiotherapy sessions approximately once every six weeks as provided by the NHS. However, the family think that those sessions alone will not help meet his needs and are seeking private help.

The money raised will go towards funding these intensive sessions tailored to Oliver’s ability and needs – as well as anything else he needs to achieve that dream of walking.

Dan said the family also wish to pay tribute to the staff who have worked so hard to help Oliver during his spells in hospitals across North Wales and the North West of England.

He said: “The condition affects about 30 families in the UK. It took a while to sink in and I don’t think that we will probably ever get over this, to be told your child is blind, but we’ve learnt and adapted to it.

“We’ll be forever grateful to not only everyone that is helping with the fundraiser but to the different teams of people that have cared for him throughout his life.

“He was born in Glan Clwyd and spent time in their intensive care neonatal unit. He been cared for by Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and Manchester Royal Eye Hospital during various operations. He’s also been on the Wrexham Maelor’s children’s ward.

“We will be forever grateful for all those teams.”

Oliver’s family run an Instagram page (@life_through_olivers_eyes) documenting his life.

Describing their son on the fundraising page, the couple say: “Oliver is our hero and we know he has touched the hearts of lots of other people too. He is the strongest, bravest and most beautiful boy.

“We truly believe that in time, and with the help of intensive physiotherapy, Oliver will learn to walk and navigate. We just have to give him all of the tools available in order for him to get there. We owe it to him.

“We are already the proudest parents in the world, but know deep down that our little boy can learn to do these new things and make us even prouder, and hopefully make lots of other people who care for him just as proud.”

To support the family fundraiser, go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-oliver-to-walk.