Parents create a ‘bucket list’ for 5-year-old daughter who’s going blind

Parents create a ‘bucket list’ for 5-year-old daughter who’s going blind

Lizzy, 5, will be losing her sight in the next five to 10 years due to a rare genetic disorder -- but her parents have some special things planned.

The parents of a 5-year-old girl who will be going blind in the next five to 10 years are creating a bucket list of things to do before she loses her vision.

Elizabeth “Lizzy” Myers of Ohio is losing her vision at the young age of 5, and her parents aren’t telling her yet — they’re waiting until she gets older so she can understand it better, according to a CNN report.

In the meantime, they’re going to do everything they can to help her see as much as she can before that happens. Sometimes, it means even racing to her bedroom to wake her up so she can see a rainbow.

Her mother, Christine Myers, said that she and her daughter sat for a half hour looking at the rainbow and talking, appreciating it, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to do it ever again at some point.

Why? Lizzy has Usher Syndrome Type II, a rare genetic disorder that affects one in 17,000 people. Children who get it tend to have moderate to severe hearing loss, so in addition to going blind Lizzy may also lose some of hearing.

Her farther, Steve Myers, said they were both devastated when they learned the news.

However, now that the family knows ahead of time, they can do some early intervention work and help Lizzy’s brain develop in a way that will help her interact in the future when she loses her sight. And by taking advantage of the here and now, even decades after going blind she may remember what her parents looked like or what a rainbow looked like.

But for now, her parents have made a bucket list. They’ll be taking road trips, visiting zoos, and going to look at the stars — things that will hopefully stick with her forever.

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