Home Café Days raise funds for young Teodors’ treatment

Home Café Days opened in many parts of Latvia this weekend, with events in Bārta Parish dedicated to raising funds for three-and-a-half-year-old Teodors’ treatment in the United States, LSM reported.

Teodors has PACS1 syndrome, a very rare genetic condition that causes vision problems, affects intellectual development and can lead to epilepsy, balance disorders and problems with the functioning of internal organs.

Maira Melvere and her family have organised Home Café Days at their family property in Bārta Parish for the third year. Because the family is raising a child with special needs, they decided to dedicate this year’s event to charity.

“This year we decided to organise it with a special purpose because it coincided with Teodors being offered the opportunity to receive therapy in America. We wanted motivation for ourselves and for this to be the starting point for a big dream, so this year our café is on the road to the United States,” Melvere said.

She said doctors had initially told the family that Teodors would not be able to do anything. However, after reading scientific publications about his condition, she concluded that his prospects might not be as bleak as first suggested.

Teodors spends half of each day at the Liepiņa preschool education institution, attending a specialised group for children with vision impairments. He spends the rest of the day with his family and taking part in various activities.

“He has a wonderful smile. He comes in smiling and is kind-hearted. I hope everything works out and that the dream of his parents and of him comes true,” said Irēna Šteinberga, a special education teacher for children with vision impairments at the preschool.

“He likes working individually, when his interest is greater. In a group he becomes shy. When you see a parent fighting, the rest of us have a duty to support them,” she added.

Teodors is expected to make his first trip to Chicago in September for the necessary examinations. The family plans to travel to the United States the following summer, where they will have to spend two years.

Teodors will be the tenth child in the world to receive this therapy. The article said that the other children had not experienced significant side effects so far.