EVANS CITY, Pa. -- A 9-year-old Evans City girl who has been blind since birth could be getting a holiday miracle: the gift of sight.

Lexi Smith is one of five people chosen in the U.S. for a special surgery, which will be performed in China.

Lexi's family hopes the new surgery can help her see.

The third-grader said she dreams of seeing a lot of things, including her baby sister, flowers and fireworks.

The surgery, which is scheduled for July 4, could help her dreams come true.

"There's a little bit of hope that maybe she can gain some vision," said Lexi's mother, Heather.

Lexi said she wants to be able to put a face to all the voices in her life.

"Just cause I want to see what they look like," Lexi said.

Doctors in China hope stem cells will help bring some light into the life of the little girl who suffers from optic nerve hypoplasia, which are underdeveloped nerves in her eyes.

"This (the surgery) is umbilical cord stem cells, so there really shouldn't be any debate on these, because normally, they're just thrown away after the delivery," said Heather Smith. "So, these are rich in stem cells, and it's fantastic."

"A couple weeks ago, the three of us, we flew down to Tampa, and we got to meet the little girl that already had this done," said Lexi's grandmother, Deb Smith. "And seeing her and seeing her not use her cane anymore, seeing her talk about seeing her mother's face for the first time choked me up. It was just amazing."

"She's never known anything different, so to her, being blind is normal," said Heather Smith. "It's no big deal to her. When we told her about this whole process, she said she kind of likes being blind."

"It's fun not being able to see and just being able to find my way," said Lexi. "I like a challenge."

Doctors in China will use an IV to insert some of the stem cells into Lexi's eyes.

Locally, the director of UPMC's blood stem cell lab told our news exchange partners at the Tribune-Review that the treatments likely will not work but shouldn't be dangerous.

He's cautious because Lexi's immune system could reject some of the cells.

For more information on Lexi, visit www.LexisFirstSight.com.

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