A Peoria girl with multiple eye diseases is hoping to fulfill her bucket list before losing her eyesight entirely.
Six-year-old Cailee will eventually go blind. But despite all her hardships over the years she continues to be everyone else's cheerleader.
The Peoria girl has multiple eye diseases that mean, it is a matter of 'when' not 'if' she will go blind. But, despite the hardships she has been dealt, she is everyone's cheerleader.
"I mean, don't give up with anything," Cailee said. "Anything! Anything!"
Her mother, Catrina Frost, describes her daughter through a story; a day she took Cailee with her to the doctor's office.
"I was getting some blood drawn," Frost explained. "And she patted me on the leg and she says, 'Shh momma. It's OK. It's just a poke."
After that, Frost had a sign made saying just that. It now hangs in her kitchen.
"Out of all the things that she goes through in her life, in the grand scheme of things — everything in life is just a poke," Frost said.
But, the "pokes" have meant for a lot of surgeries for Cailee. She was diagnosed at just 18-months-old with a slew of unpronounceable diseases that were hidden behind her shining eyes.
"I have always had this fear," Frost said. "That Cailee was going to live in the dark."
So, Frost decided memories would be her daughter's light.
She took action and created this GoFundMe page, "Sightseeing Bucket List," for her daughter. That way, she could take Cailee to places that she could always keep in her mind, even when her eyes fail.
The adventures have been going on since last year.
They have done everything from experiences; like performing a walk-on role in "The Nutcracker," to sitting court side with the Phoenix Suns.
She has also hugged every Disney princess while on a trip to Disneyland and rolled around in the sand dunes on the way there.
But, Cailee still has a lot of items she still needs to check off. Catrina also wants Cailee to use the funds to prepare herself for when that inevitable day does come. She wants her to take cooking classes, focus on learning braille, but, also find time to just be a kid.
"The sky is the limit for her," Catrina said. "There's nothing that she wouldn't try. Let's just say that!"
If you want to learn more about Cailee and her journey, Catrina has started a non-profit called "Cailee's Corner."
