Six-year-old who is going blind creates 'visual bucket list' to fill her head with memories

Cailee Herrell, 6, with her mum, Catrina Frost.
Cailee Herrell, 6, with her mum, Catrina Frost. Photo: Facebook/Cailee's Corner

A mother from Phoenix, Arizona has created a 'sightseeing bucket list' for her daughter who is going blind.

Six-year-old Cailee Herrell was diagnosed with a rare eye condition when she was just two years old. Familial Exudative Vitreoretinopathy (FEVR) is incurable and causes progressive vision loss.

But before the youngster loses her vision completely, her family want to show her as many amazing sights as they can.

Cailee ticking off one of the items on her visual bucket list - meeting her favourite princess at Disneyland.
Cailee ticking off one of the items on her visual bucket list - meeting her favourite princess at Disneyland. Photo: Facebook/Cailee's Corner

So far she has had a trip to San Diego to see the ocean and visited the Imperial sand dunes.

And last week she went to Disneyland, so that she could meet her favourite princess. Cailee was even given a personal meet and great with the whole cast of princesses. Her mum Catrina Frost told The Daily Mail that she was in awe.

Catrina first noticed that there was something wrong with Cailee's eye when it appeared to be off centre in photographs.

Cailee was initially diagnosed with short vision, but Catrina trusted her instincts and found a second opinion. It was at this point that her daughter was diagnosed with FEVR.

"It's been an emotional roller-coaster as I tried to wrap my head around my daughter going blind, and not knowing when it is going to happen," she said.

"I am so tearful when I think about it. No parent wants to see their child lose their sight. I would trade places with her in a heartbeat."

Experts warn that Cailee could lose her sight at any time because her retina will detach as her eyeball grows.

The family have already started early interventions such as teaching her how to use a cane and lessons in braille. They also plan to take Cailee to camps for visual impairments where she can go horseback riding, rock climbing and hiking.

"Cailee was just three [when] she reminded me 'girls are tough, Mum'," recalls Catrina.

"Her middle name is Joy and she always encompasses that. She's always happy and always singing.

"Whether she has vision or not I want her to grow up [a] happy, healthy, successful and independent woman."

The family have started a Go Fund Me page to help raise money for Cailee's bucket list.

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