And while Ashley's story may be inspiring, the update on the boy called Windcuttaz is far more sombre.
You'll remember Jonathan "Windcuttaz" Coleman, he's the kid that stole the nation's heart back in 2019. He was that Christmas's proverbial Tiny Tim who got noticed for his pluck and scrappiness.
And tonight there's an update in his story and unfortunately, it's far from positive. Cherisse Halsall reports on the woes of "windcuttaz."
It's never been easy to track down Johnathan "Windcuttaz" Coleman. He's become something of a street urchin, one who out of necessity takes to the streets to get what he can. Yesterday he showed up on West Collett Canal where he did and an impromptu ad under his new Jump street nickname "Streets"
Johnathan "Windcuttaz" Coleman
"Right on West Canal by a big blue house. Come get your tart before its done, we have lemon pie, coconit tart, jam roll, Streets seh so."
And that's where we headed this morning to try and track him down. The reason? We heard he'd lost vision in his right eye. It's a cataract brought on by trauma, one that's a shocker because the last time we saw him he was on the right track heading into the Coast Guard's sea Cadet program and what by all accounts seemed like a bright future.
But in the wake of COVID-19, all that changed.
Gateway Center isn't even located here anymore. This building has become another branch of the department of youth services and Johnathan's school has yet to open its doors.
Cherisse Halsall:
"What has life been like for you since school closed?"
Johnathan "Windcuttaz" Coleman
"Like. Kinda bad cause I miss my friends, running around and playing, I miss my teacher and the work that she's giving us."
And with school still out Jonathan was spending a lot more time doing what he loves best, fishing, and that's how it happened.
We left word that we wanted to see him at his Jump street hangout.
Here's what he told us about his eye this afternoon.
Johnathan "Windcuttaz" Coleman
"I was spearfishing when I went down the thing backfired and the rubber hit me in my eye."
Cherisse Halsall:
"How painful was that?"
Johnathan "Windcuttaz" Coleman
"It hurt really bad."
Cherisse Halsall:
"When did you realize you couldn't see out of that eye?"
Johnathan "Windcuttaz" Coleman
"For like a little two-three months then I conscious, I could not see out of the next eye. And then when I look pan it never did work so one of my eyes is damaged."
Johnathan says his mom had brought him to BCVI on a previous occasion but personnel there told our news team that she failed to show up for the follow-up appointment
Cherisse Halsall:
"Now I know you've come here before but you were supposed to come back and you didn't, why?"
Johnathan "Windcuttaz" Coleman
"Because it was paining me and pressure was on it. Yes, and it hurts bad."
Jonathan has another appointment at BCVI tomorrow.
Jonathan may need surgery but the KHMH won't have an in-house surgeon until October. That means that Jonathan would have to go private but that's not something that his family can afford.
Personnel at BCVI say that they've done pro-bono surgeries in the past but only with the donated labor of willing surgeons.
