[nfb-talk] {Disarmed} FW: A personal report from ChairmanGordon Gund

Gloria Whipple ladygloria at webband.com
Sat Apr 23 03:21:49 UTC 2011


I fully agree.

Myself, I have been blind all my life, so I don't know what it is like
living in two worlds. Is that the right term?


Gloria Whipple
Corresponding Secretary
Inland Empire chapter
nfb of WA


-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of T. Joseph Carter
Sent: Friday, April 22, 2011 20:00
To: NFB Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] {Disarmed} FW: A personal report from ChairmanGordon
Gund

Gloria,

For the longest time I wished I were either fully sighted or fully 
blind.  I didn't much care which.  I was raised to be "visually 
impaired", not "blind", so I was expected to do things visually when 
possible, which generally it wasn't.  The end result was that I was 
angry, depressed, and generally Not Terribly Happy with the world.

I can easily see how a person who is in such a state, and much more 
easily see how a person who had vision and lost it would want to be 
able to see more than most anything else.  In the latter case, it is 
just something we have to understand.  In the former, it is too bad 
that people who cannot see are taught to idolize vision they will not 
have.  This creates in such people an innate sense of inferiority we 
have seen a few times here on this list.

The unfortunate reality is that most parents don't get it.  My 
dearest Katie, who uses a wheelchair but is not blind, just last week 
had that fact made blatantly apparent to her in a way that made her 
feel kind of sick: Her parents don't get disability, despite raising 
her and being generally supportive much of the time.  They just 
don't, and probably they never will.  If they don't understand her, 
what hope is there that they will ever understand me?

Joseph


On Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 09:11:48AM -0700, Gloria Whipple wrote:
>Bull. Are you in that category? I feel for you if you are.
>
>Sure it would be nice if sight could be given to those who want it, but it
>isn't the end of the world!
>
>
>Gloria Whipple
>Corresponding Secretary
>Inland Empire chapter
>nfb of WA
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>Behalf Of John Heim
>Sent: Friday, April 22, 2011 07:02
>To: NFB Talk Mailing List
>Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] {Disarmed} FW: A personal report from
ChairmanGordon
>Gund
>
>A lot of people don't like being blind. In fact, I would say that most
>people who are blind would prefer not to be blind.
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Gloria Whipple" <ladygloria at webband.com>
>To: "'NFB Talk Mailing List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2011 4:19 PM
>Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] {Disarmed} FW: A personal report from
ChairmanGordon
>
>Gund
>
>
>> What in the heck is wrong with being blind!
>>
>>
>> Gloria Whipple
>> Corresponding Secretary
>> Inland Empire chapter
>> nfb of WA
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf Of S Baker
>> Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2011 14:14
>> To: AMoLList
>> Subject: [nfb-talk] {Disarmed} FW: A personal report from Chairman Gordon
>> Gund
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> SRBaker
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:00:24 -0500
>> From: GGund at FightBlindness.org
>> To: srbaker at charter.net
>> Subject: A personal report from Chairman Gordon Gund
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Like you, Steven, I follow the work of the Foundation Fighting Blindness
>> closely. As a donor, I want to know that my donations make a difference.
>>
>> And believe me, they do.  When I reflect on the last year and listen to
>> this
>> video, I am reminded that we have more clinical trials for sight-saving
>> treatments underway than ever before.  Clearly, hope and optimism are
>> running high.  Incredible strides have been made in the last few years,
>> and
>> these remarkable advances would not have been made without your support
of
>> the Foundation. They include:
>>
>> Vision Restored.  We are continuing to build on remarkable gains in gene
>> therapy.  As you may recall, in a Foundation-funded trial, 9-year-old
>> Corey
>> Haas and 19 others received a gene therapy treatment and can now see.
And
>> as the trial has expanded, participants have shown sustained improvement
>> in
>> vision.  Building on this success, similar gene therapy treatments are
>> moving into clinical trials for choroideremia, Stargardt disease and
Usher
>> syndrome.
>>
>> Innovative Technology.  The high-tech industry has a treatment I'm
>> incredibly excited about-- the world's first commercially available
>> artificial or "bionic" eye. Early funding from the Foundation was key to
>> getting this engineered retina off the ground.  Building on the studies
we
>> funded, the light-sensing, implantable "chip" has been tested in a
>> clinical
>> trial in Europe with great results. In the study, people who were
>> profoundly
>> blind experienced improved vision that could help them to be more
>> independent.  In fact, many can now see shapes and recognize large
>> letters.
>>
>> Groundbreaking Therapies.  A research team funded by the Foundation
>> Fighting
>> Blindness developed an innovative technique for correcting the
>> disease-causing gene by using stem cells derived from a person's skin.
>> While
>> more work is needed to ensure safety, this advancement suggests that
>> doctors
>> may someday be able to treat a patient's retinal disease using their own
>> skin cells.
>> These few accomplishments barely begin to tell the story of all the
>> progress
>> that's being made.  And this is why words can never express my personal
>> gratitude for your passionate and committed support.
>>
>> I hope you will take a few minutes to watch the video and see the results
>> of
>> your support and the hope it has generated. But most importantly, I hope
>> you
>> will see that research is progressing at a terrific rate.  It's been a
>> long
>> time coming, but we crossed a critical threshold when our researchers
>> actually restored sight. It launched us into a new era when more and more
>> people will have their sight saved or restored every year.  A lot of work
>> remains.  But we'll get there by continuing to work together.
>>
>> The Foundation Fighting Blindness values the support you give us by
>> donating, talking to your friends, and advocating for increased research
>> funding.  As we continue our relentless pursuit to eradicate blindness,
we
>> hope you will continue your steadfast support of our mission. Thanks for
>> envisioning a bright future for the millions affected by retinal
>> degenerative diseases.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> Gordon Gund
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Check us out on:
>>
>> Tell a Friend  |  Subscribe  |  Change email address  |  Unsubscribe
>> Foundation Fighting Blindness
>> www.FightBlindness.org
>> 7168 Columbia Gateway Drive, Suite 100
>> Columbia, MD 21046
>> 1-800-683-5555
>>
>> nonprofit software
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