A 12-year-old schoolgirl who is losing her sight was stunned when her favorite actress Kate Winslet helped her fulfill her “visual bucket list”.
Not only did the Titanic star donate $5,000 so Lily-Rae could see the Northern Lights, she also invited her and her mother to join her for a night at the theater in London.
The girl, who lives in Nottingham, England, was diagnosed with Stargardt disease last December, an inherited condition that causes blurriness in the central part of the eye.
Her mom, Emma, set up a GoFundMe campaign to help her daughter enjoy as many visual experiences before her sight worsens—and the Oscar winning actress was so touched by her brave battle, that she reached out to do something personally.
Lily-Rae and Emma travelled to London to meet Kate before the trio went to the Barbican Theatre to watch the play My Neighbour Totoro.
“It just felt like we’d known each other forever,” said Emma. “Kate was very, very welcoming. It sounds like a funny thing to say, but she was just very normal—very humble.”
Winslet also arranged for the girl to tick off another item on her list: feeding tigers at Knowsley Safari Park in Prescot, England.
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“We are so grateful for her donations and help in raising the profile of Lily’s condition.”
Lily created a thank you card for Kate and her family—and she did it in Braille.
The campaign managed to raise more than £10,000 for the fun activities on her “visual bucket list” so she could enjoy them before her sight deteriorates further.
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Earlier this year Lily-Rae fulfilled her dream of going to South Africa on safari. She also wants to see Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower and the Tower of Pisa and Pompeii in Italy.
“People have been so generous and they’ve really understood what we are trying to do for Lily-Rae.”
Emma noticed her daughter’s poor eyesight when she was five and struggled to read at school.
Stargardt disease affects one in 10,000 people, according to the Macular Society, and causes blurriness in the central part of the eye—but it is hoped she may at least keep some of her peripheral vision.
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Currently, she can only see from 6-feet away and uses a font size of 64 to read her laptop. Despite her condition, brave Lily-Rae refuses to be downhearted.
“If there’s anything you feel is wrong with you, it’s not a disability and no one should see it as a disability. They should see it as an ability.”
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