Kacey Follow Up, Over Six Years After Her Transplant

Today’s Favorite Friend Friday highlights another one of our younger friends. You might remember Kacey Heisler from our 2015 issue of forSight. Kacey was just a baby when we featured her story and interviewed her family. Now all these years later, she is about to celebrate her sixth birthday on January 10, and we feel so lucky to get to watch this amazing young lady grow up!

When Kacey was born, her parents, Kristin and Kenny, noticed something different about her eyes. “Kacey wasn’t doing the normal eye movements that newborns do. When we took Kacey to her first month pediatrician appointment, her doctor recommended we see a specialist,” Kristin recalls.

Upon further examination at Wills Eye Hospital, pediatric ophthalmologist, Dr. Levin, determined that Kacey was born with a rare eye disease called Peter’s Anomaly. At only four months old, thanks to LEBDV’s Gratis Tissue Program, Kacey received a corneal transplant in each eye.

Fast forward over five and a half years later, and Kacey is getting ready for Winter Break as a Kindergarten student. And she has a lot to celebrate as this year comes to an end. Kacey was just awarded Student of the Month by her teacher Mrs. Agatone!

To celebrate Kacey and all of her accomplishments, here are a few fun facts about the soon-to-be six year old to get to know her a little better:

Her favorite class in school currently is Computer Class. She loves learning with ABC Mouse, an online educational platform. When she is not in school learning and exploring, she loves to spend time playing with her friends. Kacey and her big sister Kiley love to play Roblox together. Her favorite food is her Poppop’s Mac and Cheese, her favorite color is teal, and her favorite animals are bunnies “because they are so cute and furry.”

As a young infant born blind, Kacey’s parents had no idea what her future would look like. Thankfully today she is a bright, curious Kindergartner capable of doing absolutely whatever she sets her mind to. “Saying ‘yes’ to being an eye, tissue or organ donor is so important,” Kristin says. “It helps so many people, and it really is so much more than the gift of sight. You never know if or when someone you love might need it.”