In a truly remarkable and heartbreaking story Pope Francis has given a family some modicum of hope by graciously blessing the eyes of their daughter, a five-year-old Ohio girl who suffers from a extremely rare condition that will soon make her blind.
The young girl named Lizzy Myers along with her family were given special seats at the Pope’s general audience session recently. The once in a lifetime opportunity then saw little Lizzy spend time with his holiness who took several minutes to talk with her, before he graciously hugged her and placed his hands over her eyes whilst reciting a prayer.
The young girl who is currently unaware that she suffers from Usher’s syndrome, seemingly enjoyed every second she had with the pontiff. The trip to see the Pope was organised by Turkish Airlines after their general manager heard of Lizzy’s heartbreaking story and offered free plane tickets to anywhere in the world. It is understood the family chose Rome because of its history and beauty.
Lizzy’s parents revealed that they decided to give their daughter a “visual bucket list” to show her as many things as they can before the debilitating illness will take away her hearing and her eyesight. However Lizzy’s emotional mother, Christine Myers, told reporters afterwards that little Lizzy was “awestruck”. “She was totally big-eyed and it was a very powerful moment for her.”
Meanwhile Lizzy’s father, Steve Myers, said he had been nervous ahead of Wednesday’s audience but that as the Pope approached his family, he felt an incredible sense of calm. “You know, I believe myself, and I think that what Pope Francis has done for her, if there is any chance for a miracle, it would be there.” “He asked that we pray for him and said that he would be praying for us.”