Scarred girl at center of KFC controversy to get prosthetic eye
Victoria Wilcher, the 3-year-old dog attack victim whose family claimed she was asked to leave a Mississippi KFC because of her facial scars, may soon be getting a prosthetic eye, CNN reports.
Raymond Peters, an ocularist in Naples, Fla., told the network he hopes to fit Wilcher with the prosthesis this week.
The story of Wilcher's alleged ouster at the fast-food chain went viral after her grandmother, Kelly Mullins, relayed it on Facebook. KFC subsequently apologized and offered to pay $30,000 to help with girl's medical bills. And more than $100,000 was raised through the website GoFundMe for Wilcher's recovery. But a pair of independent investigations conducted for the restaurant concluded that she was never asked to leave.
Peters said it is irrelevant to him whether or not the KFC incident ever happened.
"That's another world, as far as I am concerned; that's not going to affect me with how I help the child," Peters said. "I am focused on this child, and if that did happen, it's sad, because it is a double tragedy."
Peters said that that he will do the procedure for free and is also assisting with travel accommodations.
"I will help her as long as I am able," he continued. "We don't want this child to walk in the shadows."
Last week, Bill Kellum, an attorney for the family, said family members had decided to turn down KFC's $30,000 donation.
“We just didn't feel right about accepting their money," Kellum told the Clarion-Ledger. "But we did tell them they were more than welcome to donate the money to the Frank Stile Foundation."
Stile, a plastic surgeon, has agreed to pay for Wilcher’s surgery without charge. His foundation helps raise money to provide medical procedures and other services for children in need.
Mullins, for her part, is standing by her story — and her granddaughter.
"She don't have an eye socket and no cheekbone," Mullins told CNN. "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."
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