PLAUDITS TO BARON
BARON Scott loves nothing more than playing percussion and cooking up a storm.
And like most nine- year- olds, he likes to entertain with his wicked sense of humour.
Mum Jenna Buttery said her son had an incredible ability to make others smile and could express joy unlike anyone she knew.
“His smile really does impact people,’’ she said. “You can’t help but smile when Baron gives you one of his beautiful grins.”
Born blind due to optic nerve hypoplasia, Baron focuses on what he can do rather than focus on his limitations.
“He wants to be a pilot when he’s older and I encourage him to do and be whatever he wants,” Ms Buttery said. “He has an enthusiasm for life that is contagious and has a will to make the best out of any situation.”
His family is sharing Baron’s journey to shed light on his condition and to thank the community who supported him when he received stem- cell treatment in China. His condition affects the nerves that take messages from his eyes to the brain. He is blind in one eye and has severe vision loss in the other.
“The way he explains it is that the vision in his left eye is like looking through a telescope backwards, everything is blurry as if it is a long way away,” Ms Buttery said.
“He can read when he holds the text 10cm from his face. He does what he has to do and never complains.”
Ms Buttery said her family would be “forever grateful” for the community’s support in raising $ 40,000 for stem- cell treatment in China.
“It was eight years ago now, but knowing we live in a community that lends a hand when a family needs it is the most amazing of feelings,” she said. “Townsville has a heart and for that we are forever grateful.”
Ms Buttery said although Baron’s eyesight had not medically improved as a result of the stem- cell treatment in China, he improved in other ways “at an astounding rate”.
“When we arrived in China for the stemcell treatment Baron, who was two at the time, acted like a six- month old,” she said. “He didn’t crawl, didn’t walk much, didn’t talk, couldn’t feed himself. But after the treatment, within a month, he caught up developmentally, walking and talking and interacting with the world around him, and that has not stopped to this day.”
Ms Buttery said she was proud of how her son coped with his impaired vision.
“There’s never a complaint about it. In fact, he jokes about being blind, he tries to see the humour in everything,” she said. “He loves learning and he loves mastering things.
“He has a resilience and courage far beyond his years. I learn a lot being his mother.”
This month Baron underwent cooking classes with Vision Australia.
“Oh how he loves helping in the kitchen,” Ms Buttery said. “Baron sees everything as an opportunity to learn and grow. He is an Aachieving student, top of his class and he is enjoying learning to play the percussion.
“He loves nothing more than reading and writing short stories and songs on his iPad.”