

BEING A KID IS DANGEROUS
I just read that blindness is the third most feared physical condition after only Cancer and AIDS. I’m blind, but I’m not scared. Most kids with blindness are not scared. I’m sure that number would be completely different if you only surveyed those with blindness. However, fear is a pretty powerful thing. And feeling the fear of others – parents, relatives, teachers, and friends can be very limiting for a kid with blindness. I had a conversation last year with a super wel


WHITE PLATES SOMETIMES MAKE ME CRY . . .
I am the proud mother of two great kids. My husband and I were married for 11 years before we had our first, Louie. When we decided to become parents, we were filled with all sorts of ideas about parenting, family, and excitement about the future. When my son Louie was five, I was suddenly faced with something completely unexpected. I learned that my adorable little boy with big brown eyes had an eye disease. I would soon learn that this disease would steal most or all of


PARENTING PAST BLINDNESS: a dad's perspective
When my son Louie was five years old, the doctors told us he would lose his vision. They explained that Louie had a disease called Stargardt that would steal his vision over time. No estimate of the length of time we had or how much vision he would lose. Stargardt is a genetic disease, passed on from my wife and I through a rare match-up of recessive genes we both carry. We had never heard of it. There is no treatment and no cure. Fear. Sadness. Guilt. Louie is now alm