STAT

This 6-year-old suddenly had trouble reading. Why was she going blind?

A 6-year-old girl began having trouble reading and was unsteady on her feet. It took a year and a half to figure out what was wrong.

For the first 6 1/2 years of her life, Ruby Bond was like any other happy, healthy kid. Then one summer evening in 2014, Ruby’s mother noticed she was having trouble sounding out words in a homework assignment; her progress learning to read had stalled.

When her mother, Joy Raccagno-Bond, spelled a word aloud, however, Ruby was quick to pronounce it properly — indicating that she was struggling to see the letters.

Not long after, Ruby’s balance started to give way. At school, she had to lean on classmates to keep from toppling over. It was undeniable: Something was wrong.

“When you have a kid that every day is getting weaker and sicker, that’s tough,” Raccagno-Bond said.

Yet it would take a year

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