A mother fought back tears during an emotional appearance on This Morning as she and her teenage daughter discussed a poignant bucket list of experiences to complete before the girl loses her sight.
A Race Against Time to See the World
Audrey Tyrrell, aged 13, appeared on the ITV daytime show with her mother, Tracey, to speak with hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley. Audrey was diagnosed with Usher syndrome two years ago, a rare genetic condition affecting only three to six people in every 100,000. The disorder causes deafness and a gradual loss of vision due to an eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa.
Facing an uncertain future, Audrey has created a list of sights she is determined to see with the help of her family. She plans to tick off every item within the next 10 to 20 years before her vision deteriorates completely.
"It's a list of all the things that I want to do before I lose my sight," Audrey explained to the hosts. Her mother added, "We don't know, it's an unknown... that's why we thought we didn't want to sit around waiting for something like that to happen and then wishing we'd done certain things."
Dream Destinations and Precious Memories
Audrey's ambitious list includes future dreams like seeing New York's Statue of Liberty and witnessing the Northern Lights. She has already begun her journey, having visited Stonehenge, attended a Coldplay concert, travelled to Cornwall for a Cornish pasty, seen Taylor Swift live, visited the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and enjoyed a family trip to Legoland.
Audrey recounted how her condition was discovered. "I found out, when I was in the dark I started thinking that I couldn't see as much as normal people could, and my parents picked up on it," she said. Tests at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital confirmed the diagnosis. She has worn hearing aids since she was six weeks old due to the syndrome's impact on her hearing.
Tracey emotionally described her daughter's resilience. "I'm so proud and every obstacle, Audrey just tackles with such enthusiasm for life," she said. "She just wants to suck every ounce of goodness out of life."
Surprise Gifts to Fulfill a Bucket List
In a heart-warming turn, hosts Ben and Cat surprised Audrey with plans to help her cross off several items. They announced a three-day trip to New York to see the Statue of Liberty and an overnight stay at a castle.
The surprises continued as Stranger Things star Nell Fisher, 14, made a special appearance. Nell, who plays Holly Wheeler in the hit series, presented Audrey and her family with tickets to the West End stage show Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a prequel to the TV series. An excited Audrey hugged her mum as the news was revealed.
Nell also spoke about finishing filming the final series of Stranger Things and her return to normal school life in the UK, joking that her teenage friends are largely unimpressed by her fame.
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX.
