Inspirational Stories

On a recent visit with my father-in-law who has wet macular degeneration, my husband noticed that when my father-in-law was out in the stores, at the bank or the doctor’s office he struggled with signing forms, entering a zip code into the credit card machine or understanding a price tag. My husband was with him […]

After a car accident destroyed his eyesight, Jose Magallon felt like his life suddenly turned into a dark room. With no depth perception, he began to rely on a cane, and his family. As his life began to fall apart, Jose quickly sought help, and through a local housing program in his community, he had […]

Unexpected circumstances forced Tammy Ruggles to make a major career change. Although she spent years studying to become an active social worker in her community, a progressive low vision disease (retinitis pigmentosa) made it hard for her to continue her job. Switching field, she became a photographer, and she went pro within a matter of […]

A puppeteer may be going blind, but he’s not losing his “creative vision”. Morgan FitzPatrick Andrews, a performance artist in West Philadelphia, was diagnosed with a rare degenerative eye condition known as Cone Rod Dystrophy. “It t is a dominantly inherited condition,” says Morgan, “so half the people on my father’s side have this disease.”. […]

In addition to guiding visually impaired humans, guide dogs can also lead other… dogs. When Kiaya (a 10-year old Akita breed) lost her eyes from Glaucoma, her siblings came to the rescue. Glaucoma is a condition that damages the optic nerves, and it can eventually lead to blindness; Kiaya had both of her eyes removed […]

We’d like to acknowledge Dr. Alfred A. Rosenbloom, world-renown optometrist, and pioneer in low-vision rehabilitation. After a lifetime of achievements and research related to low vision, Dr. Rosenbloom recently passed away at 94 years old in Chicago. He will be missed by hundreds of students and colleagues that had the privilege of working with him. […]

The Boston Marathon can be a true test of one’s physicality, and Tim Sullivan is ready to give it his all, raising awareness for the visually impaired. After months of preparation and training, he is gearing up to run with others in this annual event. Tim is blind, so the Boston marathon will be extra […]

Although professional Australian bowler Justin Bettes is blind, he’s in South Korea, close to winning the world championships for the visually impaired. Currently, Justin is second place for blind tenpin bowling, and his enthusiasm as inspiring others with low vision to get in the game. We’re all wondering, how does he do it? Although he […]

Hunter Jarman studies hard in school, loves science and devours comic books. Until recently, the 13-year-old faced a significant obstacle to enjoying these pursuits: Jarman has ocular albinism, a genetic condition that reduces the pigmentation in the eye, causing impaired visual acuity, light sensitivity, and eye strain. When Hunter tried out a demo of the […]

A few weeks ago I posted an article on the obligations of blind and low vision people to realize that not everything is about them. This came about, in part, because people were asking me what they should do in certain circumstances when around me. So here is a partial list of the things that […]