The family of a girl, 10, have been told to make lasting memories with her following a heartbreaking diagnosis that came after a routine Specsavers appointment.
Emily Atkin, from Cottingham, East Yorkshire, went for the eye test in 2019, with the optician noticing her eye was flat where it should be curved.
She was referred to hospital and sent for a brain scan before her vision began to deteriorate and she was eventually diagnosed with Juvenile Batten Disease in January.
The rare genetic condition causes loss of sight, speech and mobility skills over time and children who suffer from it are not expected to live beyond their teenage years.
Emily's family were shocked by the diagnosis as she had always been perfectly healthy, reports Hull Live.
They have now been advised by the hospital to make as many memories with Emily as possible before her illness gets worse.
Rebecca Atkin told how the first sign of her daughter's condition came from a routine Specsavers appointment in the summer of 2019.
She said: "Emily has worn glasses since she was four but her vision only sat on the borderline of needing to wear them.
"During the appointment, upon taking pictures of her eyes, the optician noticed that part of Emily's eye was flat where it would usually be curved and referred her to Hull Royal Infirmary.
"Due to needing a specialist, Emily was referred to a hospital in Newcastle in October 2019 and she underwent EEGs to determine the issue."
Throughout the pandemic, the family said they heard nothing back from the hospital but noticed Emily's vision was deteriorating a lot.
Becky described seeing Emily struggling to see the computer screen and holding books very close to her face to make out the words, as she was being home-schooled when schools were closed.
In February 2021, Emily was declared severely visually impaired and she is now on the blind register.
The family were then referred to Great Ormond Street Hospital for genetic testing and Emily was diagnosed with Juvenile Batten disease in January.
Emily has also started to struggle with her speech which was never the case before.
Her family described the youngster as a bubbly girl and have set up a Go Fund Me page hoping to raise £20,000 to give her the fantastic memories she deserves.
Parents Becky and Ricky Atkin said: "Emily is the kindest, sweetest, most gentle and loving girl that you could ever meet.
"She does not have a bad bone in her body and her happy nature can't help but make you smile. She loves to talk. We literally can't stop her sometimes and she keeps us laughing every day.
"Her strength and resilience the last few years make us beyond proud, she doesn't let this disease get her down and always has a smile on her face."
Becky said that Emily always had lots of friends, and she has a great relationship with her older brother, Lewis.
Perhaps the most defining trait Emily has is that she is a Harry Potter super-fan and routinely asks her mum to call her "Harry" while dressed in her very own robe and sitting on a broomstick.
Becky said that her daughter's obsession grew after she visited the Harry Potter Studios on her eighth birthday and was enchanted by all things wizard.
The family are hoping to use the donation money to take Emily to Universal Studios in Florida so that she can experience the Harry Potter World there and watch the Cursed Child on the West End before Emily can no longer see.
Within four days of the Go Fund Me page being set up, the family have already received almost 250 donations totalling £6,600.
They said they have been blown away by the generosity of friends and strangers.
"All I can say is thank you, and I can't say how much this means to us," Becky added.
"We set the target really high, with going to America in mind, and really didn't think it would come close or this quickly at all.
"We imagined it would be next year that we could think about booking the holiday, but it may be a lot sooner than that, which is great."
