A 5-year-old Frisco girl, who doctors said would never be able to see, is defying the odds and is now the face of a non-profit organization meant to help families of children with visual impairments.
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It's estimated that 1.4 million children in the world are blind, according to the World Health Organization, and for parents of these children, learning about options to correct or restore vision can be overwhelming.
A family is Frisco knows first hand.
Finley Fears, 5, was born blind and needed a double cornea transplant when she was just days old.
Her parents, Christopher and Dallas Fears, say Finley is an anomaly as doctors aren't sure what caused her blindness.
At nine months of age, glaucoma, a progressive condition that damages the eye's optic nerve, took Finley's right eye and now threatens her left eye.
"She wears a prosthetic. Now we're facing glaucoma in the left eye," said Dallas Fears.
The journey to save Finley's sight, the Fears say, began down an isolated path.
"We had the prayers and support from friends and family, but no one who had walked in our shoes, no one that could say, 'hey this is the situation', or this is what you need to do,' said Dallas.
In January of this year, they started a non-profit called Fearless Hope, where families of children with visual impairments can connect with other families walking in similar paths.
Those needs can include services like Braille, music lessons, prosthetic or walking dogs.
"That's a very difficult thing as a parents, whenever your child is diagnosed with something, when the doctor says, 'he or she is never going to see again.' How to do you preserve that hope for your child? How do you let them know that life is going to be great? That's what we are here for," said Christopher Fears.
They've already connected with six families across the United States.
Closer to home, Aubree Wiede, from Coppell, whose 3-year-old daughter, Hazel, was born with a genetic syndrome that affects her sight, connected with Fearless Hope.
"For someone to come alongside you and tell you your kid is going to be okay, that is huge. That is everything to a mom who doesn't know what is going to happen," says Wiede.
Doctors don't know what caused Finley's vision impairments, say the Fears, but after 17 surgeries, she is still beating the odds.
"Seeing doctors telling us that she will never be able to see and there is no hope for her, to being able to see, to her actually riding her bike and having those gifts that God has promised her, is something that we want to relay to other people," says Christopher.
For information on Finley and Fearless Hope, click here.
