LEXINGTON – The parents of Lizzy Myers, the little girl who may lose her eyesight, saw her story attract international attention. Because people responded so strongly to the Lexington girl’s plight and wanted to help her, she got to make the trip of a lifetime, going to Rome last year and meeting Pope Francis. Lizzy’s parents want to provide similar experiences for other children with visual impairments. Steve and Christine Myers started the Visual Bucket List Foundation as a way to “pay it forward” for all the kindness they have received. They have applied for nonprofit status. Lizzy has Usher Syndrome Type 2A, which is characterized by hearing loss from birth and progressive vision loss that begins in adolescence or adulthood. “We don’t expect to see any changes for a few years,” Steve Myers said. Lizzy’s parents have not told her about her condition. Her first story in the News Journal documented her visit to the Warren Rupp Observatory in the summer of 2015. Turkish Airlines later offered to pay for round-trip tickets for the family to go anywhere in the world. They chose Rome. “It just kind of snowballed,” Christine Myers said. “We were shocked.” Steve said he turned down Turkish Airlines three times before agreeing to the offer. “It took off, especially when the folks from Rome found out,” he said. “They kind of adopted Lizzy.” The Myers family hopes for similar success with their foundation. They already have their first subject, 7-year-old Reminington Hedrick, of Shelby. She is Lizzy’s second-grade classmate at St. Peter’s. “After such a great experience, we decided we wanted to help others,” Christine said. Remington is the daughter of Shane and Amber Hedrick. She ran into trouble at the age of 7 weeks with “uncontrollable eye movement.” She was diagnosed with nystagmus, often involuntary eye movement acquired in infancy or later in life that may result in reduced or limited vision. Remington Hedrick (Photo: Whitney Schroeder Photography) Amber Hedrick said the diagnosis was a blessing. “It saved her life,” Amber said of her daughter. “She was septic, and we didn’t […]

Click here to view original article at www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com