Valery KasatkinAfter a number of offers from all around the world, a smiley baby orphan with no eyes has found a new home for Christmas.
Alexander K – known as Sasha – has a remarkably rare condition: while he’s otherwise completely healthy, he was born with no eyes. According to Russian medics, he’s only one of three registered babies with the condition.
After The Siberian Times revealed the eight-month-old tot’s search for a family, offers flew in. Now, officials in Tomsk have told the outlet that Sasha is with a new family.
Valery KasatkinSasha suffers from an extreme form of rare SOX2 anophthalmia syndrome – however, doctors noted that he suffers from no other impairments.
A Tomsk childcare official said:
Little Sasha was taken into care by a Russian family from a different city. They are in the process of getting the adoption documents ready.
The eight-month-old baby is now with the new family, who are currently his official guardians.
Valery KasatkinThe official added:
It happened during the last month. Once the documents are done, Sasha’s adoption will officially be complete. But even at this stage we cannot reveal any more details about the family. We are, of course, very happy for baby Sasha and wishing him and his parents all the best.
Officials wrote on his adoption page that Sasha was ‘a peaceful, smiling baby, he smiles back as soon as he hears familiar voices’.
The baby’s mum learned of his rare disability late in the pregnancy. After deciding that, in her circumstances, she wouldn’t be able to provide sufficient care for him, the unnamed woman went through the orphanage herself.
Valery KasatkinBefore going to his new adoptive parents, a female nurse from Tomsk specialised children orphanage took Sasha to St Petersburg, where doctors implanted tiny eye orbs – ensuring that his face doesn’t grow deformed.
The nurse said:
He is no different to other children, he plays and smiles just like any healthy baby. He loves playing and adores swimming, he is a very cheerful baby indeed.
Barring any groundbreaking technology, with his condition it’s unlikely that Sasha will ever be able to see.
Svetlana Syrova, the journalist who initially revealed Sasha’s story, said it was ‘some special magic in Christmas’ that led to him being adopted. ‘Many thanks to all those who cared about the child’s fate,’ she said.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.