One mid-Missouri family is traveling half way around the world for a chance to live a normal life.

Braden Hart is 12 years old and he's like any other boy his age.

The only difference is Braden was born with optic nerve hypoplasia. He can't see out of his left eye and only has some vision in his right.

"It's harder on a single parent than it is having a mom and dad there. Not only am I his dad, I'm his best friend," said Braden's dad Brad.

Back in December, Braden's Dad heard about a hospital in China that uses stem cells to help patients with various conditions.

"I heard that, I heard that three or four months before we found out about this, no it doesn't work, it's a big hoax," Brad said.

But that didn't stop Braden's dad.

"I started researching and i found a lady that her daughter had been the first person from the united states to go, child-wise, have this procedure done," Brad said. "I figure it's worth a phone call, she'll either talk to me or tell me to get lost. Me and the lady have talked about everyday since then."

And he's inspired by the success stories of others.

"When you have a child, I don't care if it's a child or a grownup, that when you close your eyes and you see nothing and you barely open an eye and you can see an image or you can see color or you can see light, that's a hundred percent improvement of what you had," Brad said. "Never will I take that away from any kid, I don't care if it's Braden or any other kid that needs it."

So Brad started to raise money.

"Cans around town, didn't put them outside of Hermann anywhere. But every week to 10 days, I was collecting money in them," he said. "A minimum usually of $100 to $200 every couple weeks. It all adds up, it all adds up."

The first fundraiser was on February 9 at the Eagle Hall in Hermann. The family raised more than $3,000 that night.

"They're trying to help me go to China, which is 50 grand," Braden said.

"I told Braden from the time he could understand and was asking the questions to me why he couldn't see that if there was ever a chance to do anything to help him see, it didn't matter what it was," Brad said. "And to just see the support we've got here from the small town of Hermann, it's overwhelming."

Now, about six months later, Braden spent a month in China and is now back.

"What it took to get where we are right now. Uh, let's just put it this way, not a lot of sleep," Brad said.

"It's a little procedure. First it's an iv, I think it's in my hand, right dad?" Braden said. "And then my second one is spinal."

His first treatment was on July 1st followed by the second one four days later. Doctors injected stem cells into his spine. Braden wasn't allowed to move for six hours and had at least two more treatments before leaving China.

And the trip home for Braden means a chance to live a normal life. Braden's dad says it could take 8 to 10 years before the U.S. government approves the stem cell procedure.