PSA- Visionwalk 2008 approaching

This post is dedicated to educating everyone who is unfamiliar, with the Visionwalk. Alex and I have been involved with the Foundation Fighting Blindness for several years, as this group funds vital research for the disease that is robbing Alex of his eyesight. Alex has Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), which is a congenital, degenerative retinal disease (try saying that 5 times fast!). He has suffered from vision issues his whole life but was not properly diagnosed until he was 21 years old. The doctor then told him he'd be in his 60's before he had to worry about actually being blind.

Fast forward 11 years, he's 32, is legally blind, and uses a cane to get around the city in anything other than broad daylight. There are many ways that RP is affecting his vision. Because of the "multifaceted" nature of this disease, it is extremely difficult to diagnose, treat, study, and find a cure for. Much hope is being placed in stem cell therapy, one of the many reasons we banked Charlie's cord blood when he was born.

Below is a picture of what a normal person would see if looking at these two cute boys:

And now here is what someone with RP would see, assuming this is broad daylight. If the lights were dimmed even a little, the central vision gets worse and worse with the lower lighting. Also, Alex and many others have many cataracts that cause blurriness in his central vision:

As a result of this, he is constantly scanning his environment for obstacles, and often bumps into and trips over things (dogs, kids, furniture) in unfamiliar places. He hasn't driven in 7 years and it is difficult to eat at restaurants with the mandatory "mood lighting". He does not read for leisure, only what he has to at work and with that, he blows it up in large font on his computer. Alex leads a very active life but his vision is quickly failing him.

The FFB raises money to fund research that is looking to find a cure for this, and many other degenerative retinal diseases. The Visionwalk is their signature event that was started several years ago in some of the bigger cities. Last year was the inaugural Philadelphia walk and we had a great turn-out with many teams and several hundred people who came, including Vince Papale. I was one of the main chair-persons of the walk and we had a team of 25+ people and raised over $12,000. The walk totaled over $80,000. It was a huge success for a first walk. This year, the walk is being held on Saturday October 11th in Fairmount Park (Forbidden Drive area). Here's some pics of last years walk. Our team (as it is this year) was called The World According to RP:

You can find out more information by going to www.visionwalk.org. Click on the Philadelphia walk, click on our team name, and read our story (although I guess you just did!). Every donation is greatly appreciated, no matter how small. Many people giving $10 adds up to a lot of money. If anything, let others know about this organization, consider coming out to walk with us, or form your own team and help us keep a cure in sight!