A teenage boy born with a visual impairment has been given his independence through the help of miraculous new technology.
Emilio Saavedra was born with cortical visual impairment - a condition that means his brain has a delayed interpretation of what his eyes see. The 13-year-old from Prescot also has neurofibromatosis - a genetic condition that causes tumours to grow along his nerves - and hydrocephalus which is a build up of fluid on the brain.
After struggling to find the right high school when living in Cambridgeshire the family took the leap to move to Prescot so Emilio could attend St Vincent's School for Sensory Impairment and receive treatment at Alder Hey. And through his treatment at the children's hospital Emilio has been given access to technology that has given him a new level of independence.
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Emilio is one of five children receiving treatment at Alder Hey gifted with technology by OrCam. He's been given the OrCam Read - a digital handheld reader that captures full pages of text and reads it aloud to the user. The feature allows users to issue voice commands which identifies and then reads specific areas of the text.
As Emilio has a reduced vision that is similar to tunnel vision the technology will allow him to live the life of a 'normal' teenage boy. Emilio's mum Melanie said it means the 13-year-old can spend more time with his friends and less time relying on help when carrying out tasks that others take for granted.
Melanie, 47, told the ECHO : "It's an amazing, amazing piece of technology. We were actually gifted it which is absolutely amazing - it's not a cheap piece of equipment but it's a life changing piece of technology for Emilio.
"We went out for dinner and he was using it to read the menu. This is something he's never been able to do before - we've always had to read it for him. Reading the menu is a basic life skill that we just take for granted but this gives him the independence to do it all himself.
"We also went to the museum and when we've gone before my other two children will run around and constantly bombard us with information but that's never really happened for Emilio because it hasn't been accessible. Having this little camera in his hands means he can run around and get the information himself.
"It means he can enjoy the experience of going to the museum or for dinner much more because it was never easy for him before."
Despite his health conditions Melanie said Emilio has an amazing "can-do" attitude and throws himself into everything he does. His health conditions mean no two days are the same as one day could see him playing with his brother while the next could see him in his wheelchair.
Melanie said despite this he loves sport and plays for two cricket teams and also takes part in tennis and physical disability rugby league. She told the ECHO : "He's such a happy kid - he's so laid back. He doesn't let anything faze him.
"He lives in a lot of pain - a lot of unexpected pain - so we take it day-by-day and do what we can to help him when he's on a bad day. But he has such a can-do attitude and just gets on with it.
"Everyone loves him and this new technology means he can spend more time with his peers. He wants to be independent and this now means he can.
"He can now do it all on his own and do whatever he likes."
