When I was in 3rd grade, my teacher reached out to my parents because I was having difficulty reading the board. As any parent would do, they immediately scheduled a regular eye exam. During my appointment, and my doctor saw something that he said he had never seen before and referred me to a different doctor. Luckily, the doctor that he referred me to had just gotten back from a Retinal Disease conference. After he ran a few tests, he saw something in my eyes that seemed similar to macular degeneration. He then referred me to the UW Medical center, where I endured hours upon hours of testing before, finally reaching a diagnosis.
It was official, I was diagnosed with Best Disease. As a 7 year old, I was extremely confused as to what was going on; all I knew was that I had something wrong with my eyes and that very few people had it. It wasn’t until in my later years did I decide to do research on this rare disease. Best Disease is one that attacks the central vision leaving the affected person legally blind. Unfortunately, Best Disease is extremely rare and does not have a cure… yet! When I first was able to fully comprehend what was happening to my body, I felt angry because this is something that I have no control over. Within the past couple of years, I have learned to be at peace with it. Everything happens for a reason and I have accepted that this obstacle was placed in my life for good reason.
Working at Maya and being in an environment with others that are seeking to live in health and wellness, despite various challenges helps maintain my determination to not let this disease get the best of me. Maya has inspired me by what I see happening in our community every day, and I would love to share more about my experience with others who might be experiencing "invisible" challenges to their health as well.
Every year the Foundation Fighting Blindness puts on something called the VisionWalk and this year I finally have the opportunity to participate! Starting in 2006 and raising over $45 million to fund sight-saving research, VisionWalk is a signature fundraising event of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, a non-profit organization. Over 10 Million Americans are affected by blinding retinal diseases including best disease, macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa and Usher syndrome. The Foundation Fighting Blindness is working to find treatments and cures for these devastating diseases. By funded leading edge research in area such as genetics, gene therapy, transplantation, artificial retinal implants and pharmaceutical and nutritional therapies. The Foundation Fighting Blindness is making a difference today to make the world a brighter place for those suffering with retinal degenerative diseases.
If you would like to support me during my walk, please click the link below. Any donation is greatly appreciated! :)
Let's kick blindness' butt!
Click the button below to view my donation page:
It was official, I was diagnosed with Best Disease. As a 7 year old, I was extremely confused as to what was going on; all I knew was that I had something wrong with my eyes and that very few people had it. It wasn’t until in my later years did I decide to do research on this rare disease. Best Disease is one that attacks the central vision leaving the affected person legally blind. Unfortunately, Best Disease is extremely rare and does not have a cure… yet! When I first was able to fully comprehend what was happening to my body, I felt angry because this is something that I have no control over. Within the past couple of years, I have learned to be at peace with it. Everything happens for a reason and I have accepted that this obstacle was placed in my life for good reason.
Working at Maya and being in an environment with others that are seeking to live in health and wellness, despite various challenges helps maintain my determination to not let this disease get the best of me. Maya has inspired me by what I see happening in our community every day, and I would love to share more about my experience with others who might be experiencing "invisible" challenges to their health as well.
Every year the Foundation Fighting Blindness puts on something called the VisionWalk and this year I finally have the opportunity to participate! Starting in 2006 and raising over $45 million to fund sight-saving research, VisionWalk is a signature fundraising event of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, a non-profit organization. Over 10 Million Americans are affected by blinding retinal diseases including best disease, macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa and Usher syndrome. The Foundation Fighting Blindness is working to find treatments and cures for these devastating diseases. By funded leading edge research in area such as genetics, gene therapy, transplantation, artificial retinal implants and pharmaceutical and nutritional therapies. The Foundation Fighting Blindness is making a difference today to make the world a brighter place for those suffering with retinal degenerative diseases.
If you would like to support me during my walk, please click the link below. Any donation is greatly appreciated! :)
Let's kick blindness' butt!
Click the button below to view my donation page:
RSS Feed