Marlana VanHoose is no stranger to national anthems, and she did not disappoint in her RNC 2016 performance.
VanHoose has performed the anthem on some of the biggest stages including last year’s NBA Finals Game 6 in Cleveland. Her contraction of the Cytomegalovirus at birth lead to her life-long blindness.
She shares her story on her website:
Marlana was born with Cytomegalovirus (CMV), by the time she was a few weeks old it was discovered that she was blind. Her optic nerve never formed. She was not expected to live past one year. At the age of two, Marlana was diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy.
But God knew better, He had special plans for Marlana. After Marlana turned a year old her body healed from the virus and that is when it all began. Marlana was humming “Jesus loves me” before she talked and by the time she was two years old she started playing the piano.”