A three-year-old Mississippi girl whose family claimed that she was forced to leave a KFC location due to her appearance may be getting a prosthetic eye after a concerned ocularist came to her assistance.
The girl in question, Victoria Wilcher, and her family have come under controversy after some say the story was fabricated.
But Raymond Peters from Naples, Fla., said he is not concerned about the controversy over what may or may not have happened at the KFC location. He said he simply wants to give the young girl the care she needs. An ocularist makes and fits artifical eyes.
"That's another world as far as I am concerned. That's not going to affect me with how I help the child," he said of the KFC incident. "I am focused on this child, and if that did happen, it's sad because it is a double tragedy for the child."
The story began in June when the girl's grandmother, Kelly Mullins, went on Facebook and wrote that the girl, who must wear an eye patch and cannot eat without a tube, was forced out of a KFC due to her appearance troubling other customers.
The girl's injuries arose when she was mauled by her grandfather's pit bulls.
Following the posting, it went viral, with fundraising campaigns bringing in thousands of dollars. KFC issued an apology and $30,000.
Since then, however, investigations uncovered no evidence that the girl was ever asked to leave a KFC and a local newspaper also wrote about the controversy, casting doubt on the family's accusations.
But Mullins says the girl is suffering nonetheless and deserves a fighting chance.
"She don't have an eye socket and no cheekbone," said Mullins. "We had to put her back in diapers because of the wounds on her legs. She can't pull things up and down on them. The wounds will bleed, and she screams bloody murder."
Although evidence doesn't point to the grandmother's story claims being true, KFC said it would honor its donation to assist the girl in her medical efforts.
Although Peters has said that he is uncertain an artificial eye will be possible until he sees the extent of the injury, he says he will go forward with the attempt.
"I will help her as long as I am able," he said. "We don't want this child to walk in the shadows."
