Community contributes to Ohio girl's "visual bucket list" before she loses her sight
A news article about a little girl who would possibly lose her eyesight due to a rare condition had a ripple effect in the community she lived in — and beyond — after her parents created a "visual bucket list." Seven years ago, Lizzy Myers, who was 5 years old at the time, met a reporter at an observatory near her hometown of Mansfield, Ohio, where her parents had set up a private star viewing.
Lizzy said stars have dazzled her for as long as she could remember, but she had never seen the night sky through a high-powered telescope. An astronomer at the observatory found out about her story and tipped off local news reporter Kaitlin Durbin.
Durbin, who was working as a crime reporter for the Mansfield News Journal at the time, recalls that she initially didn't want to do the story because she was exhausted.
"I was so tired that day, and it was late. I was doing midnight drug raids with the police department," Durbin said.
But she went anyway and met Lizzy along with her parents, Steve and Christine Myers. They explained how their daughter had just been diagnosed with a condition called Usher Syndrome type 2A and that she could permanently lose her eyesight from it.
"I mean it's just absolutely devastating. We didn't know what to do," Steve Myers said.
The parents said they couldn't just let their daughter's future disappear into the darkness. Steve and Christine Myers drew up what they would call a "visual bucket list" - awe-inspiring sights for Lizzy to see.
It included the Smoky Mountains, the Grand Canyon, sunrises and more. But at the top of the list was the moon.
"You could actually see a little bit of the details of the craters," Lizzy said.
Durbin's story on the girl's exclusive stargazing experience was put on the front page. And people responded, calling the reporter to inquire about Lizzy Myers' visual bucket list and ask how they could help make her dreams come true.
"I started getting a lot of phone calls from the community, just who fell in love with Lizzy," Durbin said.
One person even paid for the Myers to go to Rome to have the Pope bless Lizzy's eyes.
"We received something that was beyond anything that money can buy," Steve Myers said.
The outpouring also sparked something incredible — the founding of the Visual Bucket List Foundation by the Myers family as a way to pass on kindness to others.
Laylah Gonzales, a 9-year-old who has already lost vision in one eye, wanted to see a cheetah up close, so the Visual Bucket List Foundation chipped in to help.
"To be that close to a cheetah, her favorite animal - was just amazing to see her expression on her face," said her father, Jose Gonzales.
Christine Myers said that the organization made sure the entire Gonzales family got to see the cheetah so that they could memorialize the experience and help support their child once she loses her sight.
As for Lizzy Myers, she is now 12 years old. Her eyesight hasn't worsened but she's learning to read Braille. She said she's taking in all the butterflies, flowers, bees and any other wonders that remain to be seen.
"Christine and I know that we can never pay back the gift that was given to us, but we've decided that we're gonna spend the rest of our lives trying," her father said.
Lizzy said if there is one thing she feels she can see forever, it would be her family.
"No matter what had happened, they've always stood by my side," she said.