Help Maria out! :)
Donation protected
So my name's Maria! On May 15th, 2014, I was diagnosed with a severe rod cone dystrophy, or it can be described as retinitis pigmentosa. It means that I have less than 20 degrees of vision, and that I could end up completely blind. I can't legally drive at the moment, I have a very difficult time adjusting from outdoor to indoor lighting (and vice versa), and when it's too bright out, I can only see little things. My depth perception is off, so you can imagine how stairs are a pain, and not because they can turn into a workout! :P
Too dark is also an issue - any night vision that I could possibly have as a human being is nonexistent. I confuse colours often, and it takes me almost twice as long to find something that fell. It's easier for me to read white on black than the opposite. Thankfully, I have been able to accomodate many things in my life to help me out. Unfortunately, it's getting worse.
It's difficult. I find myself crying randomly, daily, because the image of me walking around with a guide dog, can't actually see, I can't be independent, really, pops into my head. It's really hard. The frustration I feel, too, when someone tries to understand, but can't is twofold - I feel disgusting, because they can't know and it's not their fault, they just want to help. At the same time, it's almost like that teenager idea of "wahhhh no one understands me!"
But life goes on. Presently, there is research being done for actual treatments and things that I can get checked out in the United States, and the Wilmer Eye Institute at the John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, is one of the best in the world. There are doctors there that are working to finding a cure or to help stop the progression of RP. It's honestly beautiful, life saving, it's like a small glimmer of hope.
I was told by a doctor that this disease is not getting researched for a cure, because not a lot of people have it, and that destroyed me. It is true, roughly only 1 in 5000 people get it, and...I mean, to know that there is literally nothing I can do to stop going blind is utterly devastating. It's incredibly painful to move past sometimes.
Anyway. This fundraiser, as hard as it is to start, is to help me get down to Baltimore. The appointments and things are expensive, not to mention the fact that the amounts are in USD, not CAD, and we all know how poorly our dollar is doing! :P The amounts for the initial appointments are about $15 000 CAD. Any amount that I have to spend later will be even more so, which means this is only a start to a path of (hopefully) hope!
So I guess if you are willing to help out, the amount of gratitude I would feel is enormous...I literally have no words. Any amount I get honestly just brings me to tears.
Thank you so much for reading this, for visiting the page, for willing to help someone out. I really, really mean it.
Too dark is also an issue - any night vision that I could possibly have as a human being is nonexistent. I confuse colours often, and it takes me almost twice as long to find something that fell. It's easier for me to read white on black than the opposite. Thankfully, I have been able to accomodate many things in my life to help me out. Unfortunately, it's getting worse.
It's difficult. I find myself crying randomly, daily, because the image of me walking around with a guide dog, can't actually see, I can't be independent, really, pops into my head. It's really hard. The frustration I feel, too, when someone tries to understand, but can't is twofold - I feel disgusting, because they can't know and it's not their fault, they just want to help. At the same time, it's almost like that teenager idea of "wahhhh no one understands me!"
But life goes on. Presently, there is research being done for actual treatments and things that I can get checked out in the United States, and the Wilmer Eye Institute at the John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, is one of the best in the world. There are doctors there that are working to finding a cure or to help stop the progression of RP. It's honestly beautiful, life saving, it's like a small glimmer of hope.
I was told by a doctor that this disease is not getting researched for a cure, because not a lot of people have it, and that destroyed me. It is true, roughly only 1 in 5000 people get it, and...I mean, to know that there is literally nothing I can do to stop going blind is utterly devastating. It's incredibly painful to move past sometimes.
Anyway. This fundraiser, as hard as it is to start, is to help me get down to Baltimore. The appointments and things are expensive, not to mention the fact that the amounts are in USD, not CAD, and we all know how poorly our dollar is doing! :P The amounts for the initial appointments are about $15 000 CAD. Any amount that I have to spend later will be even more so, which means this is only a start to a path of (hopefully) hope!
So I guess if you are willing to help out, the amount of gratitude I would feel is enormous...I literally have no words. Any amount I get honestly just brings me to tears.
Thank you so much for reading this, for visiting the page, for willing to help someone out. I really, really mean it.
Organizer
Maria Ramirez
Organizer
Calgary, AB