By Chris Hewett
A 90-year-old Radlett woman who organised a coffee morning to raise cash for an eye disease hospital unit hailed the event a “great success".
Joan Brookes hosted about 100 people at Christchurch, in Watling Street, Radlett, to raise money for age related macular degeneration (AMD) – a disease Joan was diagnosed with in 2008.
Joan's friends baked cakes to sell at the coffee morning and brought prizes for a tombola at the event this morning (Friday).
Joan said: “It is great to see so many people here. I advertised in the local schools, opticians' and churches and it took quite a bit of time but I had some help.
“I have had about 15 injections for the disease and have received a lot of help from people at the hospital – that is why I wanted to raise some money for them today.”
AMD is a condition that affects a tiny area at the back of the eye called the macula, causing problems to central vision, though not a total loss of sight.
On her 90th birthday in May, Joan declined presents and instead asked for donations to a new cancer centre at Mount Vernon Hospital, which raised £270 for the ward.
As well as the tombola and a 'guess the name of the flower' competition, lead clinician for ophthalmology at Hillingdon Hospital, Nicholas Lee, gave a talk and answered questions about eye problems suffered by the elderly.
He said: “We like to get out and meet our patients, you can only do so much during an appointment. It is nice for them to be able to ask questions they may not otherwise and raise awareness of AMD because people need to know if they pick it up early the treatment will be more effective.”
The total raised at the coffee morning is yet to be counted but all proceeds will be donated to Hillingdon Hospital.
Rita Johnson, who attended the morning, said: “Most of us have problems with our eyes when we get past 70 and the talk was very useful and interesting. If people become more aware of these problems, they can do more about them.”
Monday, November 15, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Never Loses sight of Marathon Participation
By AMANDA DRAPIEWSKI
Turning a dream into reality is possible. Just ask Chicago marathon runner Maria Cuevas.
Growing up in Archer Heights, Cuevas wanted to run in a marathon since she was 16 years old.
She competed in short distance events while still a teenager, then into her 20’s and 30’s. She later opted to take a temporary hiatus to focus on raising her family.
But on Sunday, Oct. 10, Cuevas, a staff member of The Chicago Lighthouse, competed among thousands of runners in the Chicago Marathon.
The fact that she is visually impaired, coping with macular degeneration, did not stop her that day.
“Although I have obvious limitations because I’m legally blind, I have learned that qualities like spirit and passion know no bounds,” said Cuevas. “The strength that I’ve gained since I was declared legally blind has given me an opportunity to appreciate the wonderful things that life has to offer and not to take anything for granted.”
She credits Dan Ashley, a longtime volunteer with the Chicago Area Runners Association (CARA) for helping get her dream back on track.
“While taking salsa classes at the Latin Street Dancing in 2008, I met Ashley and he encouraged me to get involved with CARA’s Marathon Training Program,” said Cuevas. “You can’t help thinking about the challenges you might face as a visually impaired individual.”
She eventually found her own stride, initially starting out with an 11 minute pace, then moving down to 12 minutes, where she felt more comfortable.
“From the beginning, my goal was, and remains, to finish the runs and not be concerned about the time,” she said. “All through the training, I struggled in all the long runs, but somehow Ashley’s encouragement kept me going.”
Ashley has also competed in dozens of marathons himself and is a pace leader.
“Cuevas’ ability to reach inside and find the strength to successfully compete in races and the marathon itself is nothing short of inspirational,” said Ashley.
He added that accomplishment will stay with her the rest of her life and help in dealing with other challenges.
Cuevas continued to stay focused on her goal, but along the way, she knew she would need assistance.
“My visual impairment did affect my pace in some ways because I had to be aware of where I was stepping,” said Cuevas. “During the 15- mile run, for instance, I lost my direction and fell completely behind my group while running along the lakefront.”
It was that experience that made Cuevas reach out to GLASA, the Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association, a non-profit group dedicated to assisting individuals with disabilities in completing their athletic goals.
Despite the extra help she received from GLASA, Cuevas admitted to doubting herself and often thought about quitting.
Noting that her children, Ana-Alicia and Mario, cheered her on Sunday, Cuevas pledged to give the race her very best shot.
“I will be forever thankful to everyone who has supported me,” said Cuevas.
Cuevas was the 35,695 person to complete the race. Her time was approximately 7 hours and 15 minutes.
Turning a dream into reality is possible. Just ask Chicago marathon runner Maria Cuevas.
Growing up in Archer Heights, Cuevas wanted to run in a marathon since she was 16 years old.
She competed in short distance events while still a teenager, then into her 20’s and 30’s. She later opted to take a temporary hiatus to focus on raising her family.
But on Sunday, Oct. 10, Cuevas, a staff member of The Chicago Lighthouse, competed among thousands of runners in the Chicago Marathon.
The fact that she is visually impaired, coping with macular degeneration, did not stop her that day.
“Although I have obvious limitations because I’m legally blind, I have learned that qualities like spirit and passion know no bounds,” said Cuevas. “The strength that I’ve gained since I was declared legally blind has given me an opportunity to appreciate the wonderful things that life has to offer and not to take anything for granted.”
She credits Dan Ashley, a longtime volunteer with the Chicago Area Runners Association (CARA) for helping get her dream back on track.
“While taking salsa classes at the Latin Street Dancing in 2008, I met Ashley and he encouraged me to get involved with CARA’s Marathon Training Program,” said Cuevas. “You can’t help thinking about the challenges you might face as a visually impaired individual.”
She eventually found her own stride, initially starting out with an 11 minute pace, then moving down to 12 minutes, where she felt more comfortable.
“From the beginning, my goal was, and remains, to finish the runs and not be concerned about the time,” she said. “All through the training, I struggled in all the long runs, but somehow Ashley’s encouragement kept me going.”
Ashley has also competed in dozens of marathons himself and is a pace leader.
“Cuevas’ ability to reach inside and find the strength to successfully compete in races and the marathon itself is nothing short of inspirational,” said Ashley.
He added that accomplishment will stay with her the rest of her life and help in dealing with other challenges.
Cuevas continued to stay focused on her goal, but along the way, she knew she would need assistance.
“My visual impairment did affect my pace in some ways because I had to be aware of where I was stepping,” said Cuevas. “During the 15- mile run, for instance, I lost my direction and fell completely behind my group while running along the lakefront.”
It was that experience that made Cuevas reach out to GLASA, the Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association, a non-profit group dedicated to assisting individuals with disabilities in completing their athletic goals.
Despite the extra help she received from GLASA, Cuevas admitted to doubting herself and often thought about quitting.
Noting that her children, Ana-Alicia and Mario, cheered her on Sunday, Cuevas pledged to give the race her very best shot.
“I will be forever thankful to everyone who has supported me,” said Cuevas.
Cuevas was the 35,695 person to complete the race. Her time was approximately 7 hours and 15 minutes.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Police Officer Comes to Rescue
by Joseph Chin,Oct 08, 2010
A Peel Regional Police officer certainly takes his force’s motto, A Safer Community, seriously.
And Helen Correia is glad he does.On Tuesday morning, the 42-year-old Streetsville resident, who suffers from macular degeneration and is considered legally blind, was stranded at her ophthalmologist’s Millway Shopping Centre office after her ride failed to show.It was another setback because she’d just received some crushing news from her doctor.
“Right now I can see maybe a couple of feet away. But he told me I shouldn’t be surprised if I wake up one day soon and find myself totally blind,” she said.
Correia couldn’t afford a taxi, and from past experience was afraid to attempt using a bus.“The route numbers are much too small for people like me to recognize, so wrong buses end up stopping. When that happens the drivers sometimes get mad at me. It’s such a hassle,” she said.
After waiting 45 minutes and out of options, Correia decided to walk home – a distance of nearly five miles. It would have required her to cross several major intersections.Using her white cane, and navigating carefully around road construction, she set out in a light drizzle along Erin Mills Pkwy. At one point, she was almost hit by a car making a turn.Correia was close to panicking when the officer came along.
“He drove up in an unmarked cruiser, so I didn’t know he was a police officer,” Correia recounted. “I was a bit afraid. He stopped about five feet away and was calling out, ‘Miss! Miss!’ I guess he was warning me that I was putting myself in danger.”It was only when he got closer that Correia saw he was a police officer. He took her home and waited while she got into the house safely. After the officer drove away, Correia realized she didn’t get his name or badge number. She only knows he works out of 11 Division.
Still, Correia wants to thank the officer by coming forward with her story.
“He went out of his way to help me. He didn’t have to stop because he probably had more important stuff to do,” she said.
She adds: “Some people have this negative impression of police, that all they do is hand out traffic tickets. And that’s not true. Thinking back, I shudder to think what might have happened to me if this kind officer hadn’t happened by.”
Tracking down the Good Samaritan for Correia to personally thank is difficult since some 300 officers work out of 11 Division, says Peel police spokesperson Cst. Wayne Patterson.But he isn’t surprised by what occurred.
“This is typical of our officers to think of others before they think of themselves when they’re out there on duty. Helping people, including helping a blind lady get home, is just part of what we do out there day after day,” he said.
A Peel Regional Police officer certainly takes his force’s motto, A Safer Community, seriously.
And Helen Correia is glad he does.On Tuesday morning, the 42-year-old Streetsville resident, who suffers from macular degeneration and is considered legally blind, was stranded at her ophthalmologist’s Millway Shopping Centre office after her ride failed to show.It was another setback because she’d just received some crushing news from her doctor.
“Right now I can see maybe a couple of feet away. But he told me I shouldn’t be surprised if I wake up one day soon and find myself totally blind,” she said.
Correia couldn’t afford a taxi, and from past experience was afraid to attempt using a bus.“The route numbers are much too small for people like me to recognize, so wrong buses end up stopping. When that happens the drivers sometimes get mad at me. It’s such a hassle,” she said.
After waiting 45 minutes and out of options, Correia decided to walk home – a distance of nearly five miles. It would have required her to cross several major intersections.Using her white cane, and navigating carefully around road construction, she set out in a light drizzle along Erin Mills Pkwy. At one point, she was almost hit by a car making a turn.Correia was close to panicking when the officer came along.
“He drove up in an unmarked cruiser, so I didn’t know he was a police officer,” Correia recounted. “I was a bit afraid. He stopped about five feet away and was calling out, ‘Miss! Miss!’ I guess he was warning me that I was putting myself in danger.”It was only when he got closer that Correia saw he was a police officer. He took her home and waited while she got into the house safely. After the officer drove away, Correia realized she didn’t get his name or badge number. She only knows he works out of 11 Division.
Still, Correia wants to thank the officer by coming forward with her story.
“He went out of his way to help me. He didn’t have to stop because he probably had more important stuff to do,” she said.
She adds: “Some people have this negative impression of police, that all they do is hand out traffic tickets. And that’s not true. Thinking back, I shudder to think what might have happened to me if this kind officer hadn’t happened by.”
Tracking down the Good Samaritan for Correia to personally thank is difficult since some 300 officers work out of 11 Division, says Peel police spokesperson Cst. Wayne Patterson.But he isn’t surprised by what occurred.
“This is typical of our officers to think of others before they think of themselves when they’re out there on duty. Helping people, including helping a blind lady get home, is just part of what we do out there day after day,” he said.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Clearly a site for sore eyes
by
Shari Rudavsky October 1st,2010
The outside of the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Eye Institute at the Indiana University School of Medicine draws upon the eye itself for its design.
The glass panels that cover the building on the south side range in color from gray to yellow, a nod to the yellow found in lenses for those with impaired vision.
On Thursday, Marilyn Glick toured the building that bears her name, checking on its progress.
When it is completed next spring, it will more than triple the space of IU's Ophthalmology Department, with clinical and laboratory areas. Half of the building will be devoted to research on diseases such as glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.
A $30 million gift from the Glicks three years
Shari Rudavsky October 1st,2010
The outside of the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Eye Institute at the Indiana University School of Medicine draws upon the eye itself for its design.
The glass panels that cover the building on the south side range in color from gray to yellow, a nod to the yellow found in lenses for those with impaired vision.
On Thursday, Marilyn Glick toured the building that bears her name, checking on its progress.
When it is completed next spring, it will more than triple the space of IU's Ophthalmology Department, with clinical and laboratory areas. Half of the building will be devoted to research on diseases such as glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.
A $30 million gift from the Glicks three years
Saturday, September 18, 2010
It's a Clean Sweep as Nikola hits her Stride
17 Sep 10 by Nick Berrett
Nikola Sibley won every event she entered, broke three state records and came second in the Tracey Freeman Female Athlete of the Meet award.
IT didn’t take long for Nikola Sibley to make her mark at the 2010 Queensland under-age AWD athletics championships recently.
Nikola won every event she entered, broke three state records and came second in the Tracey Freeman Female Athlete of the Meet award.
It was an impressive effort, given that it was the first time the Woodford athlete had entered a major event for athletes with a disability (AWD).
Nikola has Stargardt’s disease , which is a genetically inherited juvenile macular degeneration.
She set records in under-12 javelin (breaking a 24-year record in the process), under-12 discus and under-12 200m, while also winning the 100m and 60m.
And there is plenty of room for improvement.
``I didn’t even do my personal best for javelin but I still broke the record,’’ Nikola said.
Mother Ann-Jay said event organisers were impressed with Nikola’s dominance.
``A talent scout from the Paralympics was there and they asked us if she was coming back next year,’’ she said.
Nikola’s team, Sunshine Coast, won the overall team prize for the meet.
The multi-talented athlete, who competes at Wamuran Little Athletics, will compete in the pool at the state championship swimming carnival from October 23-24, at Chandler. However, she said her favourite events were on dry land.
``I would have to say track and field because there is more opportunity to compete,’’ Nikola said.
Nikola Sibley won every event she entered, broke three state records and came second in the Tracey Freeman Female Athlete of the Meet award.
IT didn’t take long for Nikola Sibley to make her mark at the 2010 Queensland under-age AWD athletics championships recently.
Nikola won every event she entered, broke three state records and came second in the Tracey Freeman Female Athlete of the Meet award.
It was an impressive effort, given that it was the first time the Woodford athlete had entered a major event for athletes with a disability (AWD).
Nikola has Stargardt’s disease , which is a genetically inherited juvenile macular degeneration.
She set records in under-12 javelin (breaking a 24-year record in the process), under-12 discus and under-12 200m, while also winning the 100m and 60m.
And there is plenty of room for improvement.
``I didn’t even do my personal best for javelin but I still broke the record,’’ Nikola said.
Mother Ann-Jay said event organisers were impressed with Nikola’s dominance.
``A talent scout from the Paralympics was there and they asked us if she was coming back next year,’’ she said.
Nikola’s team, Sunshine Coast, won the overall team prize for the meet.
The multi-talented athlete, who competes at Wamuran Little Athletics, will compete in the pool at the state championship swimming carnival from October 23-24, at Chandler. However, she said her favourite events were on dry land.
``I would have to say track and field because there is more opportunity to compete,’’ Nikola said.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Eyes on Paradise
by Chelsea Jensen
September 12, 2010
When 53-year-old Edward T. Rosen lost his vision for nine days after a rifle chamber explosion, the U.S. Marine was terrified he'd never see again.
"It was the most terrifying experience I have ever faced," said Rosen about the injury he suffered in 1970 while in combat in Vietnam. "It was nine days of not knowing if I was going to be blind the rest of my life."
Luckily, Rosen regained his vision. However, the experience, he said, has made him more aware of the importance of eyesight.
"I have longevity in my genes and I want to make sure I will have my eyesight," Rosen said. The Special Forces veteran said he recently began noticing some issues with his vision prompting him to take advantage of a free retina screening conducted Saturday by the Lions Club of Kona.
Rosen was just one of about 80 people who took advantage of free retina screenings held at the Kmart parking lot. Last year, the vision bus did not stop in Kona due to scheduling issues, said Lions Club of Kona leader Norman Sakata.
About 600 people took advantage of the free screenings around the rest of the island last year, and since the program started in the state three years ago, more than 3,100 people have been screened, Sakata said.
The free screenings continue today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Keauhou Shopping Center, Monday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Waikoloa Village Market and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Parker Ranch Shopping Center in Waimea.
The screenings help detect retinal issues and other eye disorders, such as macular degeneration, cataracts and glaucoma. It can also detect the early onset of diabetes in adults, Sakata said.
Retinal diseases have a devastating impact on vision and can result in permanent vision loss if not treated. If caught early on, damage to eyesight can be averted, Sakata said. While most retinal diseases are incurable, the impact can be reduced if proper care is sought.
"Sight is just so important, and this is a way to help preventable blindness by having it checked and stop it from getting worse," Sakata said.
The retinal screenings are conducted inside a 35-foot bus equipped with state-of-the-art digital imaging equipment, staffed by paid medical personnel and trained volunteers provided by the Retina Institute of Hawaii's Project Vision Hawaii. The organization is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) service with a mission to enhance quality of life by improving sight and preventing blindness.
The screening process takes about two minutes in which time a camera takes high-quality photos providing an internal view of the eye, allowing doctors to see the optic nerve. That nerve, which is located at the back of the eye, is responsible for sending visual signals to the brain, said Kimo Hodgins, a Waimea Lions Club volunteer helping conduct the screenings.
"We are looking at the focal point of the eye -- the very mechanism that deciphers what we are looking at and allows us to see," he said.
For Sharon Peoples, who moved to Kona in June, the event provided her and her husband, Brent, an opportunity to have their eyes checked and have those results sent to their new primary eye doctor for follow-up care, if needed. Although a little worried about some symptoms she's had with her eyes in the past, Peoples said everyone should take advantage of the screenings because you never know what might show up.
"We've got to keep an eye on our eyes because we live in paradise and we like to look at it," Peoples said.
September 12, 2010
When 53-year-old Edward T. Rosen lost his vision for nine days after a rifle chamber explosion, the U.S. Marine was terrified he'd never see again.
"It was the most terrifying experience I have ever faced," said Rosen about the injury he suffered in 1970 while in combat in Vietnam. "It was nine days of not knowing if I was going to be blind the rest of my life."
Luckily, Rosen regained his vision. However, the experience, he said, has made him more aware of the importance of eyesight.
"I have longevity in my genes and I want to make sure I will have my eyesight," Rosen said. The Special Forces veteran said he recently began noticing some issues with his vision prompting him to take advantage of a free retina screening conducted Saturday by the Lions Club of Kona.
Rosen was just one of about 80 people who took advantage of free retina screenings held at the Kmart parking lot. Last year, the vision bus did not stop in Kona due to scheduling issues, said Lions Club of Kona leader Norman Sakata.
About 600 people took advantage of the free screenings around the rest of the island last year, and since the program started in the state three years ago, more than 3,100 people have been screened, Sakata said.
The free screenings continue today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Keauhou Shopping Center, Monday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Waikoloa Village Market and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Parker Ranch Shopping Center in Waimea.
The screenings help detect retinal issues and other eye disorders, such as macular degeneration, cataracts and glaucoma. It can also detect the early onset of diabetes in adults, Sakata said.
Retinal diseases have a devastating impact on vision and can result in permanent vision loss if not treated. If caught early on, damage to eyesight can be averted, Sakata said. While most retinal diseases are incurable, the impact can be reduced if proper care is sought.
"Sight is just so important, and this is a way to help preventable blindness by having it checked and stop it from getting worse," Sakata said.
The retinal screenings are conducted inside a 35-foot bus equipped with state-of-the-art digital imaging equipment, staffed by paid medical personnel and trained volunteers provided by the Retina Institute of Hawaii's Project Vision Hawaii. The organization is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) service with a mission to enhance quality of life by improving sight and preventing blindness.
The screening process takes about two minutes in which time a camera takes high-quality photos providing an internal view of the eye, allowing doctors to see the optic nerve. That nerve, which is located at the back of the eye, is responsible for sending visual signals to the brain, said Kimo Hodgins, a Waimea Lions Club volunteer helping conduct the screenings.
"We are looking at the focal point of the eye -- the very mechanism that deciphers what we are looking at and allows us to see," he said.
For Sharon Peoples, who moved to Kona in June, the event provided her and her husband, Brent, an opportunity to have their eyes checked and have those results sent to their new primary eye doctor for follow-up care, if needed. Although a little worried about some symptoms she's had with her eyes in the past, Peoples said everyone should take advantage of the screenings because you never know what might show up.
"We've got to keep an eye on our eyes because we live in paradise and we like to look at it," Peoples said.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Triathlon benefits eye research
September 2, 2010
By Kate Carpenter
Swim 800 meters, bike 18.5 miles and run four miles. To add to those already intimidating numbers, competition and speed are also factors. While that may not sound like the usual relaxing Sunday, that series of events is exactly how more than 400 athletes are going to be spending theirs.
The Susan Bradley- Cox Triathlon for Sight will take place this Saturday and benefit the Eye Research Fund for the College of Medicine.
“At the University of Kentucky, there are about 30,000 eye patients a year,” race director Beth Atnip said. “There wasn’t much money being set aside for research of eye diseases including macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma.”
The race is named after Susan Bradley Cox, 74, who is the Lexington Triathlon Coach for the Kentucky Leukemia/Lymphoma Society and the head coach of the UK Masters Swim Team. She is the triathlon’s swim course coordinator. She is also training to compete in the world championships for short course triathlons in her age group.
The event was designed to provide start-up funds for eye research and to inform the public about eye disease. Over the past eight years, the event has raised close to $200,000.
Dr. Sheila Sanders, director of Glaucoma Service in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the College of Medicine, saw a need to change the lack of eye research funding through a fundraising event. She co-founded the triathlon.
One area of research this race benefits is the study of the way blood vessels grow in the eyes in diabetic patients. In addition to diabetics, this research is applicable to other fields beyond eye treatment, such as cancer research. Because of this additional application, this research becomes even more beneficial to the community.
“We have a lot of people who race in honor of people who have visual impairments,” said Sanders.
Another major contributor to the event is Delta Gamma, a sorority that has made contributing to fighting eye disease one of its causes. They provide about 120 volunteers, some of them on site by 5 a.m. making preparations for the race.
“We couldn’t do it without them,” said Atnip.
This event will begin at 7:15 am on Sunday. You may still register online until midnight on Friday and on Saturday you can sign up on site from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. as well as 5 p.m.-7:30 p.m., adjacent to the UK football stadium. An individual entry is $70 and a team is $105. This inclu
By Kate Carpenter
Swim 800 meters, bike 18.5 miles and run four miles. To add to those already intimidating numbers, competition and speed are also factors. While that may not sound like the usual relaxing Sunday, that series of events is exactly how more than 400 athletes are going to be spending theirs.
The Susan Bradley- Cox Triathlon for Sight will take place this Saturday and benefit the Eye Research Fund for the College of Medicine.
“At the University of Kentucky, there are about 30,000 eye patients a year,” race director Beth Atnip said. “There wasn’t much money being set aside for research of eye diseases including macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma.”
The race is named after Susan Bradley Cox, 74, who is the Lexington Triathlon Coach for the Kentucky Leukemia/Lymphoma Society and the head coach of the UK Masters Swim Team. She is the triathlon’s swim course coordinator. She is also training to compete in the world championships for short course triathlons in her age group.
The event was designed to provide start-up funds for eye research and to inform the public about eye disease. Over the past eight years, the event has raised close to $200,000.
Dr. Sheila Sanders, director of Glaucoma Service in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the College of Medicine, saw a need to change the lack of eye research funding through a fundraising event. She co-founded the triathlon.
One area of research this race benefits is the study of the way blood vessels grow in the eyes in diabetic patients. In addition to diabetics, this research is applicable to other fields beyond eye treatment, such as cancer research. Because of this additional application, this research becomes even more beneficial to the community.
“We have a lot of people who race in honor of people who have visual impairments,” said Sanders.
Another major contributor to the event is Delta Gamma, a sorority that has made contributing to fighting eye disease one of its causes. They provide about 120 volunteers, some of them on site by 5 a.m. making preparations for the race.
“We couldn’t do it without them,” said Atnip.
This event will begin at 7:15 am on Sunday. You may still register online until midnight on Friday and on Saturday you can sign up on site from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. as well as 5 p.m.-7:30 p.m., adjacent to the UK football stadium. An individual entry is $70 and a team is $105. This inclu
Sunday, August 29, 2010
UnitedHealthcare to Host "Do Good Live Well" Community Event
by Paul Young on Friday, August 27, 2010, * Grape Seed Extract
This fact sheet provides basic information about grape seed extract—uses, potential side effects, and resources for more information. The grape seeds used to produce grape seed extract are generally obtained from wine manufacturers. The leaves and fruit of the grape have been used medicinally since ancient Greece.
What Grape Seed Extract Is Used For
* Grape seed extract is used for conditions related to the heart and blood vessels, such as atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and poor circulation.
* Other reasons for the use of grape seed extract include complications related to diabetes, such as nerve and eye damage; vision problems, such as macular degeneration (which can cause blindness); and swelling after an injury or surgery.
* Grape seed extract is also used for cancer prevention and wound healing.
This fact sheet provides basic information about grape seed extract—uses, potential side effects, and resources for more information. The grape seeds used to produce grape seed extract are generally obtained from wine manufacturers. The leaves and fruit of the grape have been used medicinally since ancient Greece.
What Grape Seed Extract Is Used For
* Grape seed extract is used for conditions related to the heart and blood vessels, such as atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and poor circulation.
* Other reasons for the use of grape seed extract include complications related to diabetes, such as nerve and eye damage; vision problems, such as macular degeneration (which can cause blindness); and swelling after an injury or surgery.
* Grape seed extract is also used for cancer prevention and wound healing.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Myrtle Geist, who celebrated her 103rd birthday Monday, has the uncanny ability to bounce back from illness.
By LORI VAN INGEN,
Myrtle Geist, who celebrated her 103rd birthday Monday, has the uncanny ability to bounce back from illness.
Geist twice had pneumonia that landed her in the hospital, and she had to have a pacemaker installed at age 93. She also has macular degeneration.
"Every day is a gift," her daughter, Phyllis Strittmatter, said.
Born Aug. 9, 1907, in Millersville, Geist was the first of two children of Charles Eagle and Mary Kauffman Siegler. Her younger brother is the late Harold C. Siegler.
Geist attended a one-room school in Millersville through grade eight.
She graduated in 1925 from Penn Manor High School. In her senior year, she was a member of the championship girls basketball team.
After graduation, she worked as a secretary for the Robert B. Myers insurance agency in Lancaster.
In 1948, Geist became deputy recorder of deeds in Lancaster, a position she held until she retired in 1973.
Coming from a musical family, Geist began taking piano and organ lessons as a young girl with the late Frank McConnell. She put those lessons to work during high school when she became the organist at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Millersville.
She later was the organist at St. Matthew's and Faith Reformed and substituted at Emmanuel Lutheran.
She met her husband, Allen H. Geist, through a mutual friend who knew of their shared musical interest. Geist had a group, Al Geist and the Dixieland Band, that played on WGAL.
The Geists married on June 25, 1938. They had two children, Strittmatter, and a son, Andrew L., both of Lancaster. They had no grandchildren. Her husband died in 1977.
After retirement, Geist attended the Happy Hours senior citizen group in Lancaster and joined the Melodious, a group that entertained at nursing homes. She also played the organ for the Quack Quacks.
She had to give up playing the organ just six months ago, when arthritis began affecting one of her fingers.
With AARP, Geist had the opportunity to travel to Hawaii.
The Homestead Village resident now enjoys playing bingo, with some help because of her macular degeneration.
Myrtle Geist, who celebrated her 103rd birthday Monday, has the uncanny ability to bounce back from illness.
Geist twice had pneumonia that landed her in the hospital, and she had to have a pacemaker installed at age 93. She also has macular degeneration.
"Every day is a gift," her daughter, Phyllis Strittmatter, said.
Born Aug. 9, 1907, in Millersville, Geist was the first of two children of Charles Eagle and Mary Kauffman Siegler. Her younger brother is the late Harold C. Siegler.
Geist attended a one-room school in Millersville through grade eight.
She graduated in 1925 from Penn Manor High School. In her senior year, she was a member of the championship girls basketball team.
After graduation, she worked as a secretary for the Robert B. Myers insurance agency in Lancaster.
In 1948, Geist became deputy recorder of deeds in Lancaster, a position she held until she retired in 1973.
Coming from a musical family, Geist began taking piano and organ lessons as a young girl with the late Frank McConnell. She put those lessons to work during high school when she became the organist at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Millersville.
She later was the organist at St. Matthew's and Faith Reformed and substituted at Emmanuel Lutheran.
She met her husband, Allen H. Geist, through a mutual friend who knew of their shared musical interest. Geist had a group, Al Geist and the Dixieland Band, that played on WGAL.
The Geists married on June 25, 1938. They had two children, Strittmatter, and a son, Andrew L., both of Lancaster. They had no grandchildren. Her husband died in 1977.
After retirement, Geist attended the Happy Hours senior citizen group in Lancaster and joined the Melodious, a group that entertained at nursing homes. She also played the organ for the Quack Quacks.
She had to give up playing the organ just six months ago, when arthritis began affecting one of her fingers.
With AARP, Geist had the opportunity to travel to Hawaii.
The Homestead Village resident now enjoys playing bingo, with some help because of her macular degeneration.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Prep Track and Field Ageless wonder
At 83, Batavia volunteer Harold Anderson continues to have no trouble connecting with young athletes
Comments
The sun has climbed above the horizon this June morning, but it's full impact won't be felt for a couple hours.
That's good news for the six teenage girls who begin arriving, just like clockwork, at the Batavia High School track. Some drive themselves. Some are dropped off by parents. Another comes by bike.
One by one, they start to stretch.
Soon, it will be 7 a.m.
An elderly gentleman in khaki pants and golf polo, snow white hair showing from underneath his red baseball cap, joins them. There's good-natured banter before he goes to work, lining up five pairs of hurdles, side by side on two of the running lanes.
Class is in session for 83-year-old Harold Anderson who suffers from macular degeneration. It starts with the one-step drill.
This is a rite of summer for the assistant coach who works each spring with hurdlers and pole vaulters for the girls and boys track teams of coaches Chad Hillman and Dennis Piron.
Anderson, who retired from teaching at Kaneland in 1987 and quit coaching there in 1991, gives the term "veteran" new meaning. Prompted by former Batavia coach Mike DiDomenico, who still assists Piron, Anderson has volunteered here since 1991.
It's no coincidence that both programs have developed into consistent challengers for conference titles.
The magic is hard work
Three times a week, bright and early, Anderson puts his hurdlers through specialized drills at voluntary workouts that last an hour or so and run through July. You snooze, you lose.
"This is the best hurdle drill in America," Anderson says as he watches each girl line up for a turn, doing what is close to a walk-through over the five, tightly-placed hurdles.
They don't run all out. This is about feel. Emphasis is on form, balance and economy of motion with just one step between each obstacle before going over the next one, always with the same lead leg.
"When that trail leg comes down, they're jumping (over the next hurdle)," said Anderson. "That's why I call it the one-step drill.
"It looks easy but it's not," he continues as one of the upperclassmen navigates it smoothly.
Moments later, a younger girl loses her balance and has to stop before wiping out on the third hurdle.
"It's hard," Anderson says gently, knowing it's easy to get discouraged.
Several attempts later, the same girls gets through it, a tad shaky but with no bobbles.
"If you lose a little momentum, by the time you get to that fourth or fifth hurdle, you can't do it," he says. "That trail leg has got to come through and reach out because you don't get another step. ... instead of jumping the hurdle, you run the hurdle."
In an aside to an observer, he notes, "I have had kids do 10 (hurdles) in a row. It's a fantastic drill. You can take a sprinter and teach 'em how to hurdle."
Other drills emphasize starts, curves and stride.
His No. 1 sermon, though, stresses the importance of clearing each hurdle with the same lead leg, no matter if it's the 100-meter or 300-meter race.
Don't their steps get choppy and cost them time, trying to maintain that same lead leg?
"Not if your stride is right," said Anderson. "If you hit it right on the button, you'll be alright."
Then, he repeats an oft-used phrase with a chuckle.
"I tell them, 'You can cuss, but you can't say alternate,'" he says.
Connecting with kids
Natalie Tarter remembers meeting Anderson for the first time at one of these sessions before she started high school.
Tarter played soccer and basketball and from junior high, knew she was a pretty good sprinter. Her older brother would challenge boys to race her when they were killing time while having to attend their younger brother's little league games and she always won.
"(Anderson) said, 'We're gonna have you hurdle,'" Tarter remembers. "And the first time I tried it, I fell down and fell down hard. I mean, I was all scraped up on my leg and hip, a bunch of strawberries. It looked pretty bad.
"I said, 'I'm never hurdling again.' But he was the sweetest man. He said, 'You can take the next day off and regroup. It happens to everyone.'"
It does. And Anderson, it may seem, has seen it all.
He has macular degeneration, which impacts the center of a person's field of vision. He still saw the potential in Tarter. It was realized her junior year when she won the state title in the 300 hurdles and repeated as runnerup in the 100 hurdles. Injury kept her from trying for a double as a senior but she's now a sophomore on a track scholarship at the University of Wisconsin.
Brittney Bernardoni, another of Anderson's charges, will join Tarter at Wisconsin this fall but she won't be a member of the track team.
Bernardoni, who had an injury-plagued career at Miami of Ohio after winning the state pole vault title in high school, will go to Wisconsin's medical school. It's one of eight she could have attended, Anderson says with pride. She also ran hurdles remembers her first meeting with Anderson.
"He was older than I expected," she said. "But he's very kind-hearted, very supportive and he knows a ton. He's very self-effacing ... has accomplished so much but he's never one to toot his own horn."
Both standouts grew to enjoy the summer workouts.
"They were tough in the beginning, and no teenager likes to get up at 6," Tarter said. "But (eventually) I couldn't get enough of it. It was such a challenge to learn it. You felt like you were learning something new every day. Plus, then you had the rest of the day."
Little wonder, both, like many who have trained under Anderson, stay in touch after graduation.
His most recent state champ (300 hurdles), Kathryn Warner, will, too.
She will attend East Carolina University this fall on a track scholarship.
Call him visionary
"I didn't start hurdles until my sophomore year," said Warner, also an excellent vaulter. "(Anderson) kept telling me the hurdles would help me in the pole vault. He kept telling me how good I could be in the hurdles so I stuck it out.
"He's a legend. He can barely see, but he can see how many steps you're taking between hurdles."
And he sees more than his athletes might think.
As Warner's father, Guy, notes: "Even though he claims he can't see, from 100 yards, he can spot a trail leg that is a couple inches low."
Anderson prides himself on teaching technique.
"The hurdles and the pole vault are the two easiest events to get points in because three-quarters of the schools don't have pole vault coaches and only 20 percent have anybody that really know the hurdles," said Anderson, who began coaching and teaching in Catlin after graduating from Illinois Wesleyan in 1950. He also led the track program at Mooseheart early in his career.
In his day, the vaulter's poles were made of bamboo.
"I like technique," he said. "I even like coaching discus next to pole vault and hurdles.
"I'm not a yeller. But in 60 years, you ought to learn something."
He has, and often achieves his yearly goal.
"I like to get two athletes in the finals of the conference in each event," he said. "I think we've had about 90 percent success here. Then, you know you're doing something right."
That's a given.
"Perhaps what makes coach so special is the respect and admiration he gets from the athletes ... which is equalled by the respect and admiration he has for them," said Guy Warner.
"When you see athletes finish a race then come talk to him with a big smile on their face looking for approval, you know something special is going on ... everything is a learning experience."
And could be termed the never-ending story.
"This is therapy to me," said Anderson.
Therapy that works both ways.
Comments
The sun has climbed above the horizon this June morning, but it's full impact won't be felt for a couple hours.
That's good news for the six teenage girls who begin arriving, just like clockwork, at the Batavia High School track. Some drive themselves. Some are dropped off by parents. Another comes by bike.
One by one, they start to stretch.
Soon, it will be 7 a.m.
An elderly gentleman in khaki pants and golf polo, snow white hair showing from underneath his red baseball cap, joins them. There's good-natured banter before he goes to work, lining up five pairs of hurdles, side by side on two of the running lanes.
Class is in session for 83-year-old Harold Anderson who suffers from macular degeneration. It starts with the one-step drill.
This is a rite of summer for the assistant coach who works each spring with hurdlers and pole vaulters for the girls and boys track teams of coaches Chad Hillman and Dennis Piron.
Anderson, who retired from teaching at Kaneland in 1987 and quit coaching there in 1991, gives the term "veteran" new meaning. Prompted by former Batavia coach Mike DiDomenico, who still assists Piron, Anderson has volunteered here since 1991.
It's no coincidence that both programs have developed into consistent challengers for conference titles.
The magic is hard work
Three times a week, bright and early, Anderson puts his hurdlers through specialized drills at voluntary workouts that last an hour or so and run through July. You snooze, you lose.
"This is the best hurdle drill in America," Anderson says as he watches each girl line up for a turn, doing what is close to a walk-through over the five, tightly-placed hurdles.
They don't run all out. This is about feel. Emphasis is on form, balance and economy of motion with just one step between each obstacle before going over the next one, always with the same lead leg.
"When that trail leg comes down, they're jumping (over the next hurdle)," said Anderson. "That's why I call it the one-step drill.
"It looks easy but it's not," he continues as one of the upperclassmen navigates it smoothly.
Moments later, a younger girl loses her balance and has to stop before wiping out on the third hurdle.
"It's hard," Anderson says gently, knowing it's easy to get discouraged.
Several attempts later, the same girls gets through it, a tad shaky but with no bobbles.
"If you lose a little momentum, by the time you get to that fourth or fifth hurdle, you can't do it," he says. "That trail leg has got to come through and reach out because you don't get another step. ... instead of jumping the hurdle, you run the hurdle."
In an aside to an observer, he notes, "I have had kids do 10 (hurdles) in a row. It's a fantastic drill. You can take a sprinter and teach 'em how to hurdle."
Other drills emphasize starts, curves and stride.
His No. 1 sermon, though, stresses the importance of clearing each hurdle with the same lead leg, no matter if it's the 100-meter or 300-meter race.
Don't their steps get choppy and cost them time, trying to maintain that same lead leg?
"Not if your stride is right," said Anderson. "If you hit it right on the button, you'll be alright."
Then, he repeats an oft-used phrase with a chuckle.
"I tell them, 'You can cuss, but you can't say alternate,'" he says.
Connecting with kids
Natalie Tarter remembers meeting Anderson for the first time at one of these sessions before she started high school.
Tarter played soccer and basketball and from junior high, knew she was a pretty good sprinter. Her older brother would challenge boys to race her when they were killing time while having to attend their younger brother's little league games and she always won.
"(Anderson) said, 'We're gonna have you hurdle,'" Tarter remembers. "And the first time I tried it, I fell down and fell down hard. I mean, I was all scraped up on my leg and hip, a bunch of strawberries. It looked pretty bad.
"I said, 'I'm never hurdling again.' But he was the sweetest man. He said, 'You can take the next day off and regroup. It happens to everyone.'"
It does. And Anderson, it may seem, has seen it all.
He has macular degeneration, which impacts the center of a person's field of vision. He still saw the potential in Tarter. It was realized her junior year when she won the state title in the 300 hurdles and repeated as runnerup in the 100 hurdles. Injury kept her from trying for a double as a senior but she's now a sophomore on a track scholarship at the University of Wisconsin.
Brittney Bernardoni, another of Anderson's charges, will join Tarter at Wisconsin this fall but she won't be a member of the track team.
Bernardoni, who had an injury-plagued career at Miami of Ohio after winning the state pole vault title in high school, will go to Wisconsin's medical school. It's one of eight she could have attended, Anderson says with pride. She also ran hurdles remembers her first meeting with Anderson.
"He was older than I expected," she said. "But he's very kind-hearted, very supportive and he knows a ton. He's very self-effacing ... has accomplished so much but he's never one to toot his own horn."
Both standouts grew to enjoy the summer workouts.
"They were tough in the beginning, and no teenager likes to get up at 6," Tarter said. "But (eventually) I couldn't get enough of it. It was such a challenge to learn it. You felt like you were learning something new every day. Plus, then you had the rest of the day."
Little wonder, both, like many who have trained under Anderson, stay in touch after graduation.
His most recent state champ (300 hurdles), Kathryn Warner, will, too.
She will attend East Carolina University this fall on a track scholarship.
Call him visionary
"I didn't start hurdles until my sophomore year," said Warner, also an excellent vaulter. "(Anderson) kept telling me the hurdles would help me in the pole vault. He kept telling me how good I could be in the hurdles so I stuck it out.
"He's a legend. He can barely see, but he can see how many steps you're taking between hurdles."
And he sees more than his athletes might think.
As Warner's father, Guy, notes: "Even though he claims he can't see, from 100 yards, he can spot a trail leg that is a couple inches low."
Anderson prides himself on teaching technique.
"The hurdles and the pole vault are the two easiest events to get points in because three-quarters of the schools don't have pole vault coaches and only 20 percent have anybody that really know the hurdles," said Anderson, who began coaching and teaching in Catlin after graduating from Illinois Wesleyan in 1950. He also led the track program at Mooseheart early in his career.
In his day, the vaulter's poles were made of bamboo.
"I like technique," he said. "I even like coaching discus next to pole vault and hurdles.
"I'm not a yeller. But in 60 years, you ought to learn something."
He has, and often achieves his yearly goal.
"I like to get two athletes in the finals of the conference in each event," he said. "I think we've had about 90 percent success here. Then, you know you're doing something right."
That's a given.
"Perhaps what makes coach so special is the respect and admiration he gets from the athletes ... which is equalled by the respect and admiration he has for them," said Guy Warner.
"When you see athletes finish a race then come talk to him with a big smile on their face looking for approval, you know something special is going on ... everything is a learning experience."
And could be termed the never-ending story.
"This is therapy to me," said Anderson.
Therapy that works both ways.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Meeting Challenges: Ruth's Story
For years, Ruth MacCalman sewed them all and decorated her works with intricate embroidery.
About six years ago, she had to stop.
Glaucoma and macular degeneration were eroding her vision.
The pressure of fluids building in the front of the eye from glaucoma blurs vision, narrows the field of sight and can cause total blindness. Macular degeneration affects blood vessels in the macula, part of the retina, and often is associated with aging.
“People will put their arms around me, and I can’t see their faces at all,” MacCalman, 89, said.
A former accountant at the state prison in Deer Lodge, she quit working several decades ago after suffering a severe back injury in icy conditions.
As her eyes weakened, she gave up favorite activities such as golf and square dancing. No longer able to read, she has a woman come to her home each week to help with the mail and has marked the stove and microwave so that she can use the controls.
MacCalman stopped driving because glaucoma turned the white line down the road into a series of roiling waves.
She misses driving and is saddened at the prospect of giving up playing bridge with friends.
“I have to say, ‘Is that a diamond or a heart?’ ” she said.
She still has some of her sight, although her 98-year-old sister is fully blind.
MacCalman uses a short white cane because her legs go out and her hip can pop out of socket.
At the Montana Association for the Blind’s Summer Orientation Program, her orientation and mobility instructor, Tracey Orcutt, of Butte, adapted lessons in getting around to MacCalman’s physical needs.
In Aids to Daily Living classes, she learned different ways to tackle grooming, housekeeping and other everyday chores complicated by her vision loss.
A longtime baker, who also loved other types of cooking, MacCalman took both cooking and sewing lessons during the SOP.
Instructor Cherrie Albrecht, of Helena, showed MacCalman and other students how to use special self-threading needles for hand and machine sewing and to create special guides to move material in a straight line through the presser foot when sewing seams by machine.
“We just made so many things,” MacCalman said, ticking off sewing projects that included five pillows, six pot holders and a bag for carrying groceries.
She has two sons, a daughter, four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. And her sewing projects will become gifts for family and friends.
At the SOP, she said, “The people have been just wonderful. It has been kind of like home.
“They don’t look at you as if you can’t do this, you can’t do that.”
For MacCalman, the adaptive skills learned are a key part in her goal to remain in the Deer Lodge home that the first of her two late husbands built in the 1940s.
“My main desire is I don’t have to leave it,” she said.
About six years ago, she had to stop.
Glaucoma and macular degeneration were eroding her vision.
The pressure of fluids building in the front of the eye from glaucoma blurs vision, narrows the field of sight and can cause total blindness. Macular degeneration affects blood vessels in the macula, part of the retina, and often is associated with aging.
“People will put their arms around me, and I can’t see their faces at all,” MacCalman, 89, said.
A former accountant at the state prison in Deer Lodge, she quit working several decades ago after suffering a severe back injury in icy conditions.
As her eyes weakened, she gave up favorite activities such as golf and square dancing. No longer able to read, she has a woman come to her home each week to help with the mail and has marked the stove and microwave so that she can use the controls.
MacCalman stopped driving because glaucoma turned the white line down the road into a series of roiling waves.
She misses driving and is saddened at the prospect of giving up playing bridge with friends.
“I have to say, ‘Is that a diamond or a heart?’ ” she said.
She still has some of her sight, although her 98-year-old sister is fully blind.
MacCalman uses a short white cane because her legs go out and her hip can pop out of socket.
At the Montana Association for the Blind’s Summer Orientation Program, her orientation and mobility instructor, Tracey Orcutt, of Butte, adapted lessons in getting around to MacCalman’s physical needs.
In Aids to Daily Living classes, she learned different ways to tackle grooming, housekeeping and other everyday chores complicated by her vision loss.
A longtime baker, who also loved other types of cooking, MacCalman took both cooking and sewing lessons during the SOP.
Instructor Cherrie Albrecht, of Helena, showed MacCalman and other students how to use special self-threading needles for hand and machine sewing and to create special guides to move material in a straight line through the presser foot when sewing seams by machine.
“We just made so many things,” MacCalman said, ticking off sewing projects that included five pillows, six pot holders and a bag for carrying groceries.
She has two sons, a daughter, four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. And her sewing projects will become gifts for family and friends.
At the SOP, she said, “The people have been just wonderful. It has been kind of like home.
“They don’t look at you as if you can’t do this, you can’t do that.”
For MacCalman, the adaptive skills learned are a key part in her goal to remain in the Deer Lodge home that the first of her two late husbands built in the 1940s.
“My main desire is I don’t have to leave it,” she said.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Bonnet's syndrome and reality
HUH?
That was my reaction, late last year, when I was contacted by a production company in England and asked to appear in a documentary. With my family.
The company, Firecracker Films, has made documentaries for the BBC, Sky, The Learning Channel and Discovery. And, they wanted me and my family for ... what?
I immediately conjured up images of my mother wandering around her yard like Edie Beale in "Grey Gardens," wearing turbans made of old green dishcloths.
Instead, it was my FATHER they wanted. In October 2007, I wrote a column in The Record about his first bout with Bonnet's syndrome, an unusual side effect of his macular degeneration.
Dad woke up one morning, looked out the window and saw non-existent shrubs on his front lawn. Other strange hallucinatory images followed.
Later that morning, in a nearby hospital ER, he saw balloons, polka dot curtains and, most eerily, his late mother walking toward him.
He was vague to doctors about what he was seeing because he was frightened and wanted to go home.
He assumed he was dying. I assumed he was experiencing a medication-related problem. But, that night, I went online, searched "macular degeneration/hallucinations" and discovered Bonnet's syndrome (identified in the 1700s by Swiss naturalist Charles Bonnet), in which patients with severe visual loss see vivid and seemingly real images of landscapes, patterns (plain white walls turned into busy brick walls) and even cartoon characters.
Dad and Bambi became great pals there for a while; Bambi still writes, periodically.
The problem comes in sieges, then disappears for months.
After the column ran I received letters from people all around the country who have dealt with this. And, when the folks at Firecracker began to consider a documentary on this strange condition, people they spoke to mentioned my article.
A month after that call from Firecracker, my father and I did telephone interviews and, later, Skype interviews with the production team. A few more months passed. Nothing. I assumed the shoot had been canceled.
But then, we were interviewed all over again. Dad. Me. My mother. Dates were tossed around.
"They're talking late August," I told my parents. "We're all going to be on TV!"
My father growled, "What are they paying me?"
"Dad, it's a documentary," I said, "they're not paying you. They'll be shooting here for a few days and ..."
"A few DAYS?" my mother screamed. "And I have to cook for all these people?"
"Who said anything about cooking?"
"Well, who's going to feed them?"
"Ma, they'll eat somewhere. And, stop complaining! This is huge! After it airs, our family will become synonymous with bizarre and occasionally grotesque hallucinations!"
Days later, the producer called again. Could I send him some photos of the house? He also wanted to know if it was possible for us to plan a "normal family dinner" with my entire abnormal family so they would shoot some supplemental footage. And, could he interview my 13-year-old niece, Talia? And ...
My sister-in-law OK'd the interview with Talia for July 16. On July 15, Tal warned her friends on Facebook that she would be busy the next day, "being interviewed for my TV show."
Naturally, her friends were curious, so she subsequently explained, "My grandpa has a desease where he sees people as like something diffrent and I hang out with himm so I'm gunna be on the documentary."
I still can't believe she spelled "documentary" correctly.
Her friends were thrilled. One explained, "I've seen those! When you're onscreen it will say, 'Talia. Grandchild.' "
My parents, meanwhile, were suddenly warming up to the idea. So was everyone else we know. Within weeks, our little onscreen "normal" family dinner grew to include, according to my mother, "Aunt Irene, baby Dominick, Marie from next door, cousin Caroline ..." and assorted other relatives who would get mad if they weren't included.
"Ma," I said, "we're shooting a documentary, not 'Gone With the Wind.' "
On Thursday, a letter arrived: "See you next month at dinner! Sincerely, Bambi."
When he's onscreen it will say, "Bambi. Fictional Deer."
After supper on Saturday, Mom asked me to drive her to the supermarket. En route, she said, "Your father won't admit it but he's excited. It's the only good thing to come out of this whole mess. I mean, we never even heard of this condition. No one in our family ever had vision problems."
She then pointed out the window and sighed, "Oh, look. A full moon. How nice."
"That's the sun," I corrected.
She squinted through the window. "Oh. Ha-ha. Where was I?"
Frankly, my biggest fear after people see my wacky family on TV is that we'll wind up getting a weekly series on Bravo.
That was my reaction, late last year, when I was contacted by a production company in England and asked to appear in a documentary. With my family.
The company, Firecracker Films, has made documentaries for the BBC, Sky, The Learning Channel and Discovery. And, they wanted me and my family for ... what?
I immediately conjured up images of my mother wandering around her yard like Edie Beale in "Grey Gardens," wearing turbans made of old green dishcloths.
Instead, it was my FATHER they wanted. In October 2007, I wrote a column in The Record about his first bout with Bonnet's syndrome, an unusual side effect of his macular degeneration.
Dad woke up one morning, looked out the window and saw non-existent shrubs on his front lawn. Other strange hallucinatory images followed.
Later that morning, in a nearby hospital ER, he saw balloons, polka dot curtains and, most eerily, his late mother walking toward him.
He was vague to doctors about what he was seeing because he was frightened and wanted to go home.
He assumed he was dying. I assumed he was experiencing a medication-related problem. But, that night, I went online, searched "macular degeneration/hallucinations" and discovered Bonnet's syndrome (identified in the 1700s by Swiss naturalist Charles Bonnet), in which patients with severe visual loss see vivid and seemingly real images of landscapes, patterns (plain white walls turned into busy brick walls) and even cartoon characters.
Dad and Bambi became great pals there for a while; Bambi still writes, periodically.
The problem comes in sieges, then disappears for months.
After the column ran I received letters from people all around the country who have dealt with this. And, when the folks at Firecracker began to consider a documentary on this strange condition, people they spoke to mentioned my article.
A month after that call from Firecracker, my father and I did telephone interviews and, later, Skype interviews with the production team. A few more months passed. Nothing. I assumed the shoot had been canceled.
But then, we were interviewed all over again. Dad. Me. My mother. Dates were tossed around.
"They're talking late August," I told my parents. "We're all going to be on TV!"
My father growled, "What are they paying me?"
"Dad, it's a documentary," I said, "they're not paying you. They'll be shooting here for a few days and ..."
"A few DAYS?" my mother screamed. "And I have to cook for all these people?"
"Who said anything about cooking?"
"Well, who's going to feed them?"
"Ma, they'll eat somewhere. And, stop complaining! This is huge! After it airs, our family will become synonymous with bizarre and occasionally grotesque hallucinations!"
Days later, the producer called again. Could I send him some photos of the house? He also wanted to know if it was possible for us to plan a "normal family dinner" with my entire abnormal family so they would shoot some supplemental footage. And, could he interview my 13-year-old niece, Talia? And ...
My sister-in-law OK'd the interview with Talia for July 16. On July 15, Tal warned her friends on Facebook that she would be busy the next day, "being interviewed for my TV show."
Naturally, her friends were curious, so she subsequently explained, "My grandpa has a desease where he sees people as like something diffrent and I hang out with himm so I'm gunna be on the documentary."
I still can't believe she spelled "documentary" correctly.
Her friends were thrilled. One explained, "I've seen those! When you're onscreen it will say, 'Talia. Grandchild.' "
My parents, meanwhile, were suddenly warming up to the idea. So was everyone else we know. Within weeks, our little onscreen "normal" family dinner grew to include, according to my mother, "Aunt Irene, baby Dominick, Marie from next door, cousin Caroline ..." and assorted other relatives who would get mad if they weren't included.
"Ma," I said, "we're shooting a documentary, not 'Gone With the Wind.' "
On Thursday, a letter arrived: "See you next month at dinner! Sincerely, Bambi."
When he's onscreen it will say, "Bambi. Fictional Deer."
After supper on Saturday, Mom asked me to drive her to the supermarket. En route, she said, "Your father won't admit it but he's excited. It's the only good thing to come out of this whole mess. I mean, we never even heard of this condition. No one in our family ever had vision problems."
She then pointed out the window and sighed, "Oh, look. A full moon. How nice."
"That's the sun," I corrected.
She squinted through the window. "Oh. Ha-ha. Where was I?"
Frankly, my biggest fear after people see my wacky family on TV is that we'll wind up getting a weekly series on Bravo.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Visually Impaired women swims to raise money for cancer
The Steve Omi Memorial Swim was started in 1994 in honor of Steve Omi, an avid swimmer who died of cancer one month prior to his 37th birthday.
Participant Carol Nelson, of Hayden, who is visually impaired, said she relishes the opportunity to compete on a more even playing field. Swimming events provide that, she said.
"It's something that I can still do," she said.
She said her vision has been limited by Stargardt's macular degeneration.
"I have no excuses today," Nelson said.
Last year's event winner, Bryce Kananowicz, said he just likes to swim.
But "it's fun to meet people, too," he said. "And the money goes to a good cause."
As a 13-year-old last year, he swam the mile in 19 minutes, 42 seconds.
Kananowicz, of Liberty Lake, said he wanted to beat last year's time, and planned to go out hard and get away from the pack of swimmers.
"Anything under 19 minutes is good with me," he said.
He finished in 19:41 Sunday.
Participant Carol Nelson, of Hayden, who is visually impaired, said she relishes the opportunity to compete on a more even playing field. Swimming events provide that, she said.
"It's something that I can still do," she said.
She said her vision has been limited by Stargardt's macular degeneration.
"I have no excuses today," Nelson said.
Last year's event winner, Bryce Kananowicz, said he just likes to swim.
But "it's fun to meet people, too," he said. "And the money goes to a good cause."
As a 13-year-old last year, he swam the mile in 19 minutes, 42 seconds.
Kananowicz, of Liberty Lake, said he wanted to beat last year's time, and planned to go out hard and get away from the pack of swimmers.
"Anything under 19 minutes is good with me," he said.
He finished in 19:41 Sunday.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Legally Blind Man Working to Improve Pedestrian Safety in Montgomery
The great irony for William Smith is that the worse his vision becomes, the more he sees.
There is the bus stop on Fenton Street in Silver Spring, built on a platform so close to the street that it's nearly impossible for the blind or disabled person to get to. There's the crosswalk where Georgia Avenue forks into Viers Mill Road in Wheaton that could pass as a maze. And don't even mention the construction zones that frequently block sidewalks.
Smith, 46, notices such things mainly because of his inability to see them.
The stay-at-home dad is legally blind. He has an eye disorder that progressively inhibits his central vision. But that hasn't stopped him from walking the streets of his Silver Spring neighborhood, camera in hand, to document each and every obstruction.
The hurdles he faces spurred him last year to launch a blog, Montgomery Sideways. There he chronicles the impediments he encounters, raises safety concerns for other disabled residents and lets county officials know where they have fallen short.
Smith said he seeks to raise awareness because the problems he finds aren't mere inconveniences. They are roadblocks to something much more precious: his independence.
"Initially, it was just so I could walk around," he said of Montgomery Sideways. "I realize now stuff like good sidewalks don't happen by themselves.
A need for safety
The things he notices now haven't always concerned him. His macular degeneration was diagnosed when he was 14. He still got his driver's license when he turned 16 and buzzed around the streets, not all that worried about the plight of the pedestrian.
In 1989, when he was 25, the disease progressed to the point where he could no longer drive. He was consigned to getting by on his two feet, which, to his surprise, was liberating.
"Being freed by not driving changes your perception -- it's profoundly sublime," Smith said. "Walking is the most natural thing. Knowing that his vision would continue to decline, Smith and his wife, Kathleen, moved to a house in Silver Spring close to schools, stores and churches. His mission as a self-described ambulatory activist began a dozen years ago with a sidewalk near his house. It was riddled with potholes and, apparently, bad luck.
In 1998, he was walking his two young children to school at East Silver Spring Elementary when his 4-year-old daughter tripped in a hole and hit her head. A week later, she was nearly hit by a car when a driver whipped through the crosswalk.
He first worked with parents and community officials to have that sidewalk replaced. That grew into sitting in on County Council meetings, e-mailing officials about safety concerns and trying to get the attention of his neighbors.
Smith then moved his efforts online. He "started with a discussion list, with two or three readers," said Kathy Jentz, editor and publisher of Washington Gardener magazine and a "car-free" resident of Silver Spring. "I think he was disappointed with that, and I told him, 'You might want to look into a blog.' "
Giving officials a set of eyes on the ground
He started Montgomery Sideways in October, and he's already sparking a conversation.
Smith's photo of the bus stop on Fenton Street was posted to several blogs, which caused quite a few phone calls to officials, said Jeff Dunckel, pedestrian safety coordinator for Montgomery County.
Dunckel said county officials had planned to build a ramp at the bus stop even before Smith documented the access issue, but his photos prompted them to rethink their plans. Now, instead of a ramp, the county will build a stop in a more accessible location.
The budget for the county's $5 million pedestrian safety program was cut by almost 10 percent in May, forcing the department to end its education efforts. Dunckel said Smith fills the void by being a set of eyes on the ground.
John Z Wetmore, a pedestrian advocate in Bethesda and host of the cable access television program "Perils for Pedestrians," said Smith alerts the community to hazards that often are overlooked.
"Most people have been dealing with a bad pedestrian environment for so long, they have learned to ignore it," Wetmore said.
It's his passion to correct that environment, Smith said, that commits him to the arduous task of maintaining the blog with limited sight.
Updating is "physically painful," he said. To use his computer, he has to hunch forward in his chair, sitting only a few inches from the 42-inch monitor he has set up in his basement, placing additional strain on his eyes.
It is a marked difference from the man traipsing about Silver Spring. He doesn't use a cane. There is no guide dog. Smith gets around relatively unfettered. He's trying to hold onto his independence as long as possible.
"The biggest problem is at what point do I identify myself as a blind person," Smith said. "I'm fighting it because I'm vain. I hate to admit it. I'm trying to live normally as long as I can."
There is the bus stop on Fenton Street in Silver Spring, built on a platform so close to the street that it's nearly impossible for the blind or disabled person to get to. There's the crosswalk where Georgia Avenue forks into Viers Mill Road in Wheaton that could pass as a maze. And don't even mention the construction zones that frequently block sidewalks.
Smith, 46, notices such things mainly because of his inability to see them.
The stay-at-home dad is legally blind. He has an eye disorder that progressively inhibits his central vision. But that hasn't stopped him from walking the streets of his Silver Spring neighborhood, camera in hand, to document each and every obstruction.
The hurdles he faces spurred him last year to launch a blog, Montgomery Sideways. There he chronicles the impediments he encounters, raises safety concerns for other disabled residents and lets county officials know where they have fallen short.
Smith said he seeks to raise awareness because the problems he finds aren't mere inconveniences. They are roadblocks to something much more precious: his independence.
"Initially, it was just so I could walk around," he said of Montgomery Sideways. "I realize now stuff like good sidewalks don't happen by themselves.
A need for safety
The things he notices now haven't always concerned him. His macular degeneration was diagnosed when he was 14. He still got his driver's license when he turned 16 and buzzed around the streets, not all that worried about the plight of the pedestrian.
In 1989, when he was 25, the disease progressed to the point where he could no longer drive. He was consigned to getting by on his two feet, which, to his surprise, was liberating.
"Being freed by not driving changes your perception -- it's profoundly sublime," Smith said. "Walking is the most natural thing. Knowing that his vision would continue to decline, Smith and his wife, Kathleen, moved to a house in Silver Spring close to schools, stores and churches. His mission as a self-described ambulatory activist began a dozen years ago with a sidewalk near his house. It was riddled with potholes and, apparently, bad luck.
In 1998, he was walking his two young children to school at East Silver Spring Elementary when his 4-year-old daughter tripped in a hole and hit her head. A week later, she was nearly hit by a car when a driver whipped through the crosswalk.
He first worked with parents and community officials to have that sidewalk replaced. That grew into sitting in on County Council meetings, e-mailing officials about safety concerns and trying to get the attention of his neighbors.
Smith then moved his efforts online. He "started with a discussion list, with two or three readers," said Kathy Jentz, editor and publisher of Washington Gardener magazine and a "car-free" resident of Silver Spring. "I think he was disappointed with that, and I told him, 'You might want to look into a blog.' "
Giving officials a set of eyes on the ground
He started Montgomery Sideways in October, and he's already sparking a conversation.
Smith's photo of the bus stop on Fenton Street was posted to several blogs, which caused quite a few phone calls to officials, said Jeff Dunckel, pedestrian safety coordinator for Montgomery County.
Dunckel said county officials had planned to build a ramp at the bus stop even before Smith documented the access issue, but his photos prompted them to rethink their plans. Now, instead of a ramp, the county will build a stop in a more accessible location.
The budget for the county's $5 million pedestrian safety program was cut by almost 10 percent in May, forcing the department to end its education efforts. Dunckel said Smith fills the void by being a set of eyes on the ground.
John Z Wetmore, a pedestrian advocate in Bethesda and host of the cable access television program "Perils for Pedestrians," said Smith alerts the community to hazards that often are overlooked.
"Most people have been dealing with a bad pedestrian environment for so long, they have learned to ignore it," Wetmore said.
It's his passion to correct that environment, Smith said, that commits him to the arduous task of maintaining the blog with limited sight.
Updating is "physically painful," he said. To use his computer, he has to hunch forward in his chair, sitting only a few inches from the 42-inch monitor he has set up in his basement, placing additional strain on his eyes.
It is a marked difference from the man traipsing about Silver Spring. He doesn't use a cane. There is no guide dog. Smith gets around relatively unfettered. He's trying to hold onto his independence as long as possible.
"The biggest problem is at what point do I identify myself as a blind person," Smith said. "I'm fighting it because I'm vain. I hate to admit it. I'm trying to live normally as long as I can."
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
"Champion" takes care of meeting guest needs
LOCKPORT—Teresa Fernald Howard, who works at Lockport’s Holiday Inn on South Transit Street, is the huge hotel chain’s first legally blind “Guest Experience Champion” in the country.
Howard has juvenile macular degeneration, also known as Stargardt’s disease, the most common inherited form of the condition.
“Macular degeneration refers to an abnormality of the part of the eye that’s responsible for our sharpest central vision,” explained Howard, who also lives in Lockport.
The condition doesn’t stop Howard from living a full life, and making sure that Holiday Inn guests enjoy their stay. Job requirements include “good time management” skills and putting “the guest first.”
“[Howard] has exemplary customer service skills, a wonderful sense of humor and a can-do attitude that we haven’t seen in our hotel for many years,” said Terri McDonald-Gale, marketing director at the local hotel.
Tell us about your family.
I’m from a family of six children. The first three children were not affected by this condition. The fourth child, Ken, was diagnosed with JMD when he was around age 7. I am child No. 5 and was diagnosed shortly after my brother Ken. Child No. 6 was unaffected.
And your parents?
We were blessed with two wonderful parents, Wayne and Patricia Fernald. They were devastated at first to find out the news that two of their children would become blind, and the fact that there wasn’t any treatment or cure for JMD. They took my brother and [me] to different specialists, and they ran many tests. After the initial shock, they decided they would do everything they could to
help us lead as normal lives as possible.
How?
Instead of telling us we couldn’t do things, they told us we could. They’d assist us when we asked for help, but they would let us try things on our own first. Unbeknownst to them, this was the best gift that they could have given me.
Is there a cure for JMD?
Unfortunately, at this time there still is not any treatment or cure for JMD.
I can’t drive a car, so I must depend on someone else for any transportation. I have some vision, but I cannot read normal text. I use large print and magnification tools to assist in this.
I can’t see myself in the mirror.
How do you fix your hair?
I apply make-up and style my hair by touch.
My most recent setback is losing my ability to differentiate colors. I need to ask, “What color is this?” Or use a color detector. My husband, Jason, and children have been a great help with these challenges, by reading things to me—they are excellent readers—helping me with colors, and other little things I need assistance with.
What’s a color detector?
The color detector is a device that “speaks” the color of the item you put its lens on. It is not 100 percent accurate. It once told me my black-and-white dog was olive green. Also, in the right light, my skin is called “orange.” You must have a sense of humor to deal with some of the technology.
How did you come to live in Lockport?
My husband’s job brought us to this area almost four years ago. I grew up in Tampa, Fla., until the age of 14, and then moved to Binghamton. I graduated in 1987 from Chenango Forks High School near Binghamton.
Tell us about your job.
I’ve always loved working with people. My background’s in the customer service field. Last year, I attended the National Statler Center for Careers in Hospitality Service. This is how I came to be where I am to-day.
Part of the curriculum was completing an externship. Mine was at the Holiday Inn in Lockport. From the moment I arrived at the Holiday Inn, met the staff and my on-hands training began, everything fell into place, as I felt that I had truly found the job for me. Here, I was able to actually spend time with a customer, seeing that all their needs were met in a friendly, courteous manner.
What’s the difference between good and bad service?
Hospitality is all about making guests feel like they matter, and that you’re not in a hurry to move on to the next person.
How do you like your job?
I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to wake up and look forward to going to work. Mycoworkers have been so helpful and non-judgmental. I think they appreciate my attributes and look beyond my handicap.
Who and what inspire you?
My parents, family, close friends, and my faith in God have influenced and inspired me, especially my mom, dad, sister and brothers, who encouraged me to take on challenges and not to let my vision hold me back.
Now I’m trying to teach my children to not be afraid of a challenge. I also feel God doesn’t give us more then we can handle. That’s why I was blessed with twins, a daughter, Chelsea, and a son, Cameron, who have just turned 12.
What advice do you have for readers facing challenges?
Something I’d pass on to others in a similar situation would be: Shine at what you’re good at, and allow others to notice that about you. Learn how to do things in your own way. If the end result is the same, it doesn’t matter how you got there.
And for others?
Don’t judge someone until you’ve walked in their shoes. Look beyond the handicap. Give someone a chance. You might be surprised how much they can do.
Howard has juvenile macular degeneration, also known as Stargardt’s disease, the most common inherited form of the condition.
“Macular degeneration refers to an abnormality of the part of the eye that’s responsible for our sharpest central vision,” explained Howard, who also lives in Lockport.
The condition doesn’t stop Howard from living a full life, and making sure that Holiday Inn guests enjoy their stay. Job requirements include “good time management” skills and putting “the guest first.”
“[Howard] has exemplary customer service skills, a wonderful sense of humor and a can-do attitude that we haven’t seen in our hotel for many years,” said Terri McDonald-Gale, marketing director at the local hotel.
Tell us about your family.
I’m from a family of six children. The first three children were not affected by this condition. The fourth child, Ken, was diagnosed with JMD when he was around age 7. I am child No. 5 and was diagnosed shortly after my brother Ken. Child No. 6 was unaffected.
And your parents?
We were blessed with two wonderful parents, Wayne and Patricia Fernald. They were devastated at first to find out the news that two of their children would become blind, and the fact that there wasn’t any treatment or cure for JMD. They took my brother and [me] to different specialists, and they ran many tests. After the initial shock, they decided they would do everything they could to
help us lead as normal lives as possible.
How?
Instead of telling us we couldn’t do things, they told us we could. They’d assist us when we asked for help, but they would let us try things on our own first. Unbeknownst to them, this was the best gift that they could have given me.
Is there a cure for JMD?
Unfortunately, at this time there still is not any treatment or cure for JMD.
I can’t drive a car, so I must depend on someone else for any transportation. I have some vision, but I cannot read normal text. I use large print and magnification tools to assist in this.
I can’t see myself in the mirror.
How do you fix your hair?
I apply make-up and style my hair by touch.
My most recent setback is losing my ability to differentiate colors. I need to ask, “What color is this?” Or use a color detector. My husband, Jason, and children have been a great help with these challenges, by reading things to me—they are excellent readers—helping me with colors, and other little things I need assistance with.
What’s a color detector?
The color detector is a device that “speaks” the color of the item you put its lens on. It is not 100 percent accurate. It once told me my black-and-white dog was olive green. Also, in the right light, my skin is called “orange.” You must have a sense of humor to deal with some of the technology.
How did you come to live in Lockport?
My husband’s job brought us to this area almost four years ago. I grew up in Tampa, Fla., until the age of 14, and then moved to Binghamton. I graduated in 1987 from Chenango Forks High School near Binghamton.
Tell us about your job.
I’ve always loved working with people. My background’s in the customer service field. Last year, I attended the National Statler Center for Careers in Hospitality Service. This is how I came to be where I am to-day.
Part of the curriculum was completing an externship. Mine was at the Holiday Inn in Lockport. From the moment I arrived at the Holiday Inn, met the staff and my on-hands training began, everything fell into place, as I felt that I had truly found the job for me. Here, I was able to actually spend time with a customer, seeing that all their needs were met in a friendly, courteous manner.
What’s the difference between good and bad service?
Hospitality is all about making guests feel like they matter, and that you’re not in a hurry to move on to the next person.
How do you like your job?
I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to wake up and look forward to going to work. Mycoworkers have been so helpful and non-judgmental. I think they appreciate my attributes and look beyond my handicap.
Who and what inspire you?
My parents, family, close friends, and my faith in God have influenced and inspired me, especially my mom, dad, sister and brothers, who encouraged me to take on challenges and not to let my vision hold me back.
Now I’m trying to teach my children to not be afraid of a challenge. I also feel God doesn’t give us more then we can handle. That’s why I was blessed with twins, a daughter, Chelsea, and a son, Cameron, who have just turned 12.
What advice do you have for readers facing challenges?
Something I’d pass on to others in a similar situation would be: Shine at what you’re good at, and allow others to notice that about you. Learn how to do things in your own way. If the end result is the same, it doesn’t matter how you got there.
And for others?
Don’t judge someone until you’ve walked in their shoes. Look beyond the handicap. Give someone a chance. You might be surprised how much they can do.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Volunteers saves Abingdon Macular Group from closure
* By Herald Reporter »
A GROUP set up to support blind people in Abingdon has been rescued from closure.
The Abingdon Macular Group has been a help to people with failing eyesight for eight years.
The only dedicated club of its type in the town, it lets people suffering macular degeneration meet up in Abingdon Baptist church hall, in Ock Street, to chat over a cup of tea with others who share their condition. Guest speakers also regularly visit the group.
But when organiser Daphne Baker, 86, decided to step down from her role after four years and other volunteers also left, it looked like the group would have to close.
Attempts to find new volunteers had failed, and Mrs Baker desperately appealed for help.
Now a Good Samaritan has stepped forward to save the group after hearing about its plight at a day to attract new members to clubs and societies in the town.
Audrey Samuels, 47, said she wanted to help the group after witnessing the effect of the eyesight condition on her late uncle.
She said: “I went along to the clubs and societies day, started speaking to Daphne, and offered to start helping with admin. I just wanted to get involved with something voluntary which would help people.
“My uncle did suffer macular degeneration, so that was a common factor. It really was not good at all.
“He lost a lot of confidence and he was scared that he was going to go blind. It really did upset him.”
Mrs Baker said: “We have been facing a difficult time with people about to go away and do different things.
“I’ve been doing it for four years and felt it was the right time to step down.
“Abingdon Macular Group is the only group for blind people in Abingdon and for people in that situation, it is a huge help.
“When you don’t have eyesight, it can cut you off from so much of the world and it’s nice to have someone else who you can chat to and who understands what it’s like.”
Frank Shearman, 84, from Wantage, is one of 20 members who attend the regular meetings.
He first noticed his sight deteriorating eight years ago and his GP recommended he go to a specialist clinic, which identified the condition.
He said: “It is a chance to meet people that suffer the same as I did. Quite a lot of them are far worse.
“I have been told I shall not go blind, but my finer sight has got worse. I am one of the lucky ones. We do not discuss what we have got to any extent, but the different ways of handling it and different things we can buy to help it.”
A GROUP set up to support blind people in Abingdon has been rescued from closure.
The Abingdon Macular Group has been a help to people with failing eyesight for eight years.
The only dedicated club of its type in the town, it lets people suffering macular degeneration meet up in Abingdon Baptist church hall, in Ock Street, to chat over a cup of tea with others who share their condition. Guest speakers also regularly visit the group.
But when organiser Daphne Baker, 86, decided to step down from her role after four years and other volunteers also left, it looked like the group would have to close.
Attempts to find new volunteers had failed, and Mrs Baker desperately appealed for help.
Now a Good Samaritan has stepped forward to save the group after hearing about its plight at a day to attract new members to clubs and societies in the town.
Audrey Samuels, 47, said she wanted to help the group after witnessing the effect of the eyesight condition on her late uncle.
She said: “I went along to the clubs and societies day, started speaking to Daphne, and offered to start helping with admin. I just wanted to get involved with something voluntary which would help people.
“My uncle did suffer macular degeneration, so that was a common factor. It really was not good at all.
“He lost a lot of confidence and he was scared that he was going to go blind. It really did upset him.”
Mrs Baker said: “We have been facing a difficult time with people about to go away and do different things.
“I’ve been doing it for four years and felt it was the right time to step down.
“Abingdon Macular Group is the only group for blind people in Abingdon and for people in that situation, it is a huge help.
“When you don’t have eyesight, it can cut you off from so much of the world and it’s nice to have someone else who you can chat to and who understands what it’s like.”
Frank Shearman, 84, from Wantage, is one of 20 members who attend the regular meetings.
He first noticed his sight deteriorating eight years ago and his GP recommended he go to a specialist clinic, which identified the condition.
He said: “It is a chance to meet people that suffer the same as I did. Quite a lot of them are far worse.
“I have been told I shall not go blind, but my finer sight has got worse. I am one of the lucky ones. We do not discuss what we have got to any extent, but the different ways of handling it and different things we can buy to help it.”
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Sports greats give to auction
Tour de France golden boy Lance Armstrong will help boxing legend Muhammad Ali pack a punch for charity.
A signed Armstrong jersey and a signed Ali boxing glove have been secured for the Wayne Bennett dinner at Ellerslie Convention Centre on Friday, June 4.
The two items are just part of an astonishing array of goodies to be auctioned to raise funds for a number of charities at the Mad Butcher and Suburban Newspapers Community Trust dinner.
Also under the hammer on the night will be a framed Australian Rugby League Anzac jersey signed by the Kangaroos and a framed New Zealand Rugby League jersey signed by the Kiwis as well as many other items including some spectacular artwork and fine wine.
Bennett is the world's most successful league coach ever, but is famous for his silence. He rarely grants interviews, frequently gives as short an answer as possible and never hesitates to tell media if he thinks their questions are stupid.
But the man who played for Australia and has coached Canberra, the Broncos, St George, Queensland and Australia – and who has even provided coaching advice to Kiwis head Stephen Kearney – will front up to help raise cash for the four charities selected by the trust – Allergy New Zealand, Diabetes Auckland, the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand and Macular Degeneration New Zealand.
"It's an honour to have Bennett and this is also a change of format for us," says Mad Butcher and Suburban Newspapers Community Trust chairman Peter Leitch QSM.
Normally the trust events are lunches but the June 4 event will be held at night and will also feature comedian Ben Hurley and Dancing with the Stars entertainer Shane Cortese and his five-piece band.
The gala event includes cocktails from VnC, a delicious three-course meal with complementary drinks from Lion Breweries and Glengarry Wines who are sponsorship partners of the event with The Radio Network, Edwards Sound and Sentra Printing.
This is a great opportunity to get your company to take a table to entertain clients and staff while supporting four worthy causes.
A signed Armstrong jersey and a signed Ali boxing glove have been secured for the Wayne Bennett dinner at Ellerslie Convention Centre on Friday, June 4.
The two items are just part of an astonishing array of goodies to be auctioned to raise funds for a number of charities at the Mad Butcher and Suburban Newspapers Community Trust dinner.
Also under the hammer on the night will be a framed Australian Rugby League Anzac jersey signed by the Kangaroos and a framed New Zealand Rugby League jersey signed by the Kiwis as well as many other items including some spectacular artwork and fine wine.
Bennett is the world's most successful league coach ever, but is famous for his silence. He rarely grants interviews, frequently gives as short an answer as possible and never hesitates to tell media if he thinks their questions are stupid.
But the man who played for Australia and has coached Canberra, the Broncos, St George, Queensland and Australia – and who has even provided coaching advice to Kiwis head Stephen Kearney – will front up to help raise cash for the four charities selected by the trust – Allergy New Zealand, Diabetes Auckland, the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand and Macular Degeneration New Zealand.
"It's an honour to have Bennett and this is also a change of format for us," says Mad Butcher and Suburban Newspapers Community Trust chairman Peter Leitch QSM.
Normally the trust events are lunches but the June 4 event will be held at night and will also feature comedian Ben Hurley and Dancing with the Stars entertainer Shane Cortese and his five-piece band.
The gala event includes cocktails from VnC, a delicious three-course meal with complementary drinks from Lion Breweries and Glengarry Wines who are sponsorship partners of the event with The Radio Network, Edwards Sound and Sentra Printing.
This is a great opportunity to get your company to take a table to entertain clients and staff while supporting four worthy causes.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
CNIB holding Shades of Fun event to raise awareness on protecting eyes
By Pamela Cowan, Leader-Post
REGINA — These days, the sun's harmful rays aren't top of mind, but the Canadian National Institute for the Blind hopes everyone wears wild and wacky shades — at least on top of their heads on Thursday.
Across Canada, the CNIB is holding Shades of Fun — an event to raise awareness about the need to protect eyes from damaging UV rays and raise money for the vital services the organization provides the visually impaired.
"In Saskatchewan, the Minister of Health designated the month of May Vision Health Month and the mayor of the City of Regina has designated (Thursday) as Shades of Fun day," said Susan Mooney, the CNIB's associate director of services and operations for Saskatchewan.
"Get your sunglasses on and at the same time have some fun while you're doing it. And, if you can, raise some money for CNIB.
"People can have a dress-down day and come to work with their shades on and kick in a couple of bucks — whether you wear your shades on your head or you've got them on their face."
Long-term exposure to UV rays increases the risk of developing cataracts and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss in Canadians over 50.
All proceeds from Vision Health Month will fund services that include counseling, vision aids, computer training and free access to the CNIB Library.
"From helping people learn how to live independently in their homes and do their cooking and cleaning to learning how to travel independently," Mooney said. "Sometimes, you see the long, white cane, but there are other people who just need extra help when they're losing their vision. They can't see the bus sign, they can't see across the street or they're feeling uncomfortable. They can come to the CNIB and our staff will help them gain some skills."
Aids, such as a monocular, help the visually impaired see the bus number or see the walk light across the street, she said.
"When you first are losing vision, and for some time afterward, having the opportunity to talk to somebody is important so we have counselors in Saskatchewan who you can talk to about how you're managing and how you're feeling," Mooney said.
You don't have to be blind to access CNIB services, you can self-refer and there's no charge.
CNIB offices in Regina and Saskatoon offer employment counseling to people who begin to lose their vision in their working years, Mooney said.
"We also go out and work in communities across the province," she said. "When you support an activity like Shades of Fun and you wonder where your money is going, part of it is helping Saskatchewan residents, regardless of where they live, to access the services of CNIB."
REGINA — These days, the sun's harmful rays aren't top of mind, but the Canadian National Institute for the Blind hopes everyone wears wild and wacky shades — at least on top of their heads on Thursday.
Across Canada, the CNIB is holding Shades of Fun — an event to raise awareness about the need to protect eyes from damaging UV rays and raise money for the vital services the organization provides the visually impaired.
"In Saskatchewan, the Minister of Health designated the month of May Vision Health Month and the mayor of the City of Regina has designated (Thursday) as Shades of Fun day," said Susan Mooney, the CNIB's associate director of services and operations for Saskatchewan.
"Get your sunglasses on and at the same time have some fun while you're doing it. And, if you can, raise some money for CNIB.
"People can have a dress-down day and come to work with their shades on and kick in a couple of bucks — whether you wear your shades on your head or you've got them on their face."
Long-term exposure to UV rays increases the risk of developing cataracts and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss in Canadians over 50.
All proceeds from Vision Health Month will fund services that include counseling, vision aids, computer training and free access to the CNIB Library.
"From helping people learn how to live independently in their homes and do their cooking and cleaning to learning how to travel independently," Mooney said. "Sometimes, you see the long, white cane, but there are other people who just need extra help when they're losing their vision. They can't see the bus sign, they can't see across the street or they're feeling uncomfortable. They can come to the CNIB and our staff will help them gain some skills."
Aids, such as a monocular, help the visually impaired see the bus number or see the walk light across the street, she said.
"When you first are losing vision, and for some time afterward, having the opportunity to talk to somebody is important so we have counselors in Saskatchewan who you can talk to about how you're managing and how you're feeling," Mooney said.
You don't have to be blind to access CNIB services, you can self-refer and there's no charge.
CNIB offices in Regina and Saskatoon offer employment counseling to people who begin to lose their vision in their working years, Mooney said.
"We also go out and work in communities across the province," she said. "When you support an activity like Shades of Fun and you wonder where your money is going, part of it is helping Saskatchewan residents, regardless of where they live, to access the services of CNIB."
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