(Dan Tri) - The story of Lily-Rae has been mentioned by the British media for the past year. This girl who was losing her sight was helped by the actress of the movie "Titanic" to realize her dream.
Lily-Rae Merchant-O'Hanlon (12 years old) from Nottingham, England, suffers from Stargardt's disease, a genetic form of juvenile macular degeneration. Lily-Rae's story has been mentioned a lot in the British media over the past year.
In late 2023, Lily-Rae was diagnosed by doctors with the exact cause of her gradual vision loss. After that, her family helped her gradually adapt and prepare for the increasingly severe course of the disease. The family hopes that Lily-Rae will be best prepared for her future, based on the guidance of experts.
Lily-Rae has now learned to use a cane to help her walk more safely and avoid injury. She has also started learning Braille as her vision is rapidly deteriorating. The family hopes that intensive treatment will help Lily-Rae retain some of her vision.
Little Lily-Rae with her mother (Photo: DM).
To help Lily-Rae make the best memories possible before her sight begins to deteriorate, her family has launched a fundraising campaign, calling for support from the community. The purpose of the fundraiser is to help Lily-Rae do some of the things she wants to do as soon as possible, while her eyesight is still good enough to experience them.
As soon as she heard about Lily-Rae's story, Titanic actress Kate Winslet stepped in to help her make her wishes come true. Kate Winslet arranged for Lily-Rae and her mother to travel from Nottingham to the famous theater district in London to see a play with her. The two had a very happy meeting.
Lily-Rae has expressed her gratitude to actress Kate Winslet and her £5,000 donation. The Titanic beauty has helped Lily-Rae quickly achieve her desired experiences, such as seeing the Northern Lights or visiting a safari park.
Lily-Rae is now ready to use Braille for the next stage of her education. She has created a thank you card for actress Kate Winslet, with the message written in Braille. Along with the card, Lily-Rae has given Kate Winslet a Braille alphabet so she can “translate” the message herself.
Through community donations, Lily-Rae's family has received more than £10,000 (more than 320 million VND).
Earlier this year, the family took her to Finland to see the Northern Lights. Now, the family is preparing to take her to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower. Finally, they will take Lily-Rae to Kenya for a safari.
Lily-Rae’s mother, Emma Merchant, works multiple jobs to support her family. She is grateful to the community for their generous donations, allowing her family to give her daughter the experiences she so desperately wanted.
Little Lily-Rae in a meeting with actress Kate Winslet (Photo: DM).
According to Mrs. Emma, Lily-Rae is facing reality very calmly and strongly. Her family is living in the utmost respect for time and always cares about Lily-Rae's experiences.
Lily-Rae's family noticed her vision problems when she was just 5 years old. When she went to school, Lily-Rae always had difficulty reading. After monitoring, at the end of 2023, doctors diagnosed her with Stargardt disease. The rate of people with this disease is about 1 in 10,000 people.
Currently, Lily-Rae can only see people and objects within 1.8m. To read text on her laptop, she has to use font size 64.
Sharing with the media about her thoughts when facing the disease, Lily-Rae said she will live strongly and not be discouraged: "If there is anything that makes me feel unstable, it is not this Stargardt disease. I will not see myself as a disabled person, losing the ability to control my own life.
I also hope that no one sees me as a disabled person. My family and I choose to see this incident as a turning point that changes my life, from here I will have to find new abilities, new directions for myself. When we cannot change the incident, we can change our perception of the incident."
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/nghi-luc-song-cua-nu-sinh-mat-dan-thi-luc-o-tuoi-12-20241126091912223.htm
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