Why this teenager could be blind by the time he's 25
A Perth schoolboy has been handed a life-altering diagnosis that means he could be completely blind by the time he is 25.
Kye Portelli, 15, has been told by doctors that there is nothing they can do.
The Year 9 student, who lives for footy and his mates, has been diagnosed with a rare, degenerative condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa.
“Trying to not worry too much, try to get through school first,” the Newman College student said.
“I just sat in my closet and I burst into tears, I was blown away,” Kye’s mother Jeana Portelli said.
“I just thought, ‘well how’s he going to get on in the world?'”
Kye first realised something was wrong in June, when writing his NAPLAN tests.
“I was looking at the ground and I noticed it was a bit distorted,” Kye said.
He has been told his condition will continue to worsen over the next 10 years.
Kye’s friends are now trying to raise money to get him to the US, where natural and alternative therapies could help slow the progression of the genetic disorder.
In the meantime, Kye said he tried not to think about the diagnosis too much.
“My vision’s still mostly there, so I’m just trying to make the most out of it,” he said.
