Corey Haas loves the color red. The 9-year-old from Upstate New York is thrilled to see that color again and a whole lot more these days. A little over a year ago he was classified as legally blind.
Corey was born with Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis. It is a genetic retinal disease that stole most of the 4th grader's vision and eventually left him completely blind.
Simple tasks like walking a few steps required the use of a cane. Corey’s teachers had to place a 100-watt lamp over his desk just so he could read his textbooks.
“It was heartbreaking. He would trip over a lot of things, he was very insecure,” said Corey’s father, Ethan Haas.
Then last September, a visit to Philadelphia's Children’s Hospital and Penn Medicine at 34th and Spruce Streets would change Corey’s life forever.
Doctors injected healthy genes into the boy's weakest eye. The single injection restored protein that was missing in Corey’s retina.
Before the procedure, Corey took more than four minutes to complete an obstacle course designed by his doctors. After gene therapy, that same obstacle took just seconds to finish.
Dr. Catherine High, a researcher involved in the trial, said the results were "almost biblical."
“I’ve never seen anything so amazing in the whole span of my career,” said High.
Corey’s parents noticed the therapy worked just four days after the surgery.
“He would stare at the sun and it wouldn’t effect his vision,” Cory’s mom, Nancy Haas said. “So when he said the sun is really bright, I said ‘Wow!’”
A month later, there were even more amazing changes to come.
“He went from being able to read two lines at a time in his textbook to ten. It was incredible to see him play with his friends and ride his bike without our help,” said Haas.
Doctors do not know if the treatment will be permanent. Corey is one of twelve patients taking part in the gene therapy study. The other participants also saw improved vision.
