By CATHY DYSON

The family of Summer Grace, who was born blind, believes their 18-month-old "saw the light" after controversial medical care in China.

Halfway through her stem-cell treatments, Summer was taken into a dark bathroom where a doctor shone a flashlight, said Beth Allison, her grandmother. Summer followed the ray of light with her eyes, something she'd never done.

"It was pretty amazing," said Mandy Allison, Summer's mother.

The Allisons, who live in King George County, hope the milestone is one of many Summer will experience.

"I'm just going to keep praying and hoping the stem cells do their job and work their miracle," her grandmother said. "It should be an exciting year for her."

Summer received eight stem-cell treatments from umbilical-cord blood during her 33-day stay in a Chinese hospital. Her family hopes the treatments will grow her optic nerve, which didn't develop on its own, and cure the rare disorder from which she suffers: septo-optic dysplasia.

Doctors in China told the Allisons it can take up to a year for the cells to do their work. Most improvements probably will come in nine months, they said.

The Allisons sought the treatment in China after they were told by American ophthalmologists that nothing could be done to correct Summer's blindness.

Beth, a registered nurse, wouldn't accept that.

During Internet research, she came across Beike Biotechnology, an American company in China that gives patients doses of stem cells. According to the company, nearly 90 percent of almost 4,000 patients with ailments from autism to multiple sclerosis have noted some improvement.

The company hasn't submitted to clinical trials, and the treatments are not approved in the United States.

Beike has been particularly successful using stem cells to grow optic nerves, according to its Web site.

Like many of the patients in China, the Allisons paid for the trip through community events and fundraisers. The Allisons also used their own money--Beth cashed in her retirement fund--and got help from Fredericksburg philanthropist Doris Buffett.

The Allisons raised $43,000, which was enough for the treatments and to send Beth, Mandy and Summer to Qingdao, a city in eastern China facing the Yellow Sea.

Summer got eight treatments--four through her veins and four dripped into her spine.