Vision for Randall

Randall Clark is 64 and is married to my dear sister Michele. They’re both retired. Randall was a gas company service technician and Michele was an elementary school teacher. In retirement, they moved from Arkansas to Nashville to be more active grandparents for their grandchildren, including providing child care. Randall moved to see his grandkids but he cannot visually see them anymore, including at their recitals and baseball games. He loves to cook but can't read the recipes, garden, or grocery shop. He loves to sing at church but can't read the hymns or even see the pastor & choir.

In 2020, Randall was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and his vision has deteriorated further in the past two years. AMD causes damage to the macula, which is part of the eye that controls sharp, straight ahead vision. There is no cure so only vision aids can help treat symptoms. Watch the video below to get a sense of what it looks like to have AMD:

After some research, I found a couple of devices: Irisvision and Patriot. They provided a demo of their devices to Randall this week. When he put it on he immediately said, "WOW!!!!!" He couldn't believe he could see clearly again. Michele said he was beaming. He could see her face again. It brought tears to her eyes.

Picture: in-home demo of the device. He read again for the first time in over 2 years.

Picture: fire up the grill! Randall can read the meat thermometer.

The problem? Cost. The base device costs $2,995 and would be $3,336 after TN taxes (9.25%).

Even though it’s FDA-approved and used with Veterans, Randall’s insurance won’t cover the device so he would need to pay entirely out of pocket. This is a lot of money on a fixed retirement income. This is where you come in. Help us raise these funds so Randall can see his grandkids (and everyone), cook, garden, read, watch his favorite sports teams, and better enjoy life.

Anything raised over this will go to Randall's future care for AMD.

Randall and Michele are good, loving people. She is one of the most loving people I've ever known. If your children are a reflection of your life, then all I can say is they did it right!

Thanks for reading. Please donate & share this story.

p.s. Randall's multiple doctors didn't even know about these devices so sharing this story could also help others with AMD find a treatment that works and improve their lives.