Several months ago I mentioned six year old Rylea Bartlett, blind from birth, who was treated with umbilical cord stem cells in China and now has very limited vision. This year young Rylea had a Christmas like no other:

WEBB CITY, Mo. — Rylea Barlett has had Christmas trees in her home before. But this year is different.

Rylea, a totally blind child whose vision was restored by a stem-cell transplant, can do more than feel her tree now. She can see it.

“She never paid any attention to the trees we have had before,” said her mother, Dawn Barlett. “Now, when she comes home from school, she stands in front of the tree for a couple of hours every night.

“She touches the tree, and is fascinated by the lights and ornaments.”

Her tree has been rigged to turn slowly. Different ornaments and sparkling lights pass by her as the tree turns. She touches the ornaments and describes her favorites.

“This one is a ginger-bread man,” Rylea said last week as she stood close to the tree. “This one is a star. This is one with someone’s picture in it. I like this one of the baby in the moon.”

Find out more about this sweet little girl on her website, No More Darkness. Shamefully her story has progressed no further than the local media in Joplin MO.