Blog

Dinner in the Dark this Valentine’s Day

By

October 20, 2012

0 comments

Events

October 22, 2011

This Valentine’s Day I am co-hosting a fundraiser to benefit the Foundation Fighting Blindness. The Foundation Fighting Blindness is a non-profit organization that is instrumental in supporting Canadian research into genetic eye diseases such as age related macular degeneration (AMD), retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and others. It will be a fun evening where diners will be blindfolded for a feast of the senses and a first hand experience of social interaction without the benefit of vision. Dance and Silent Auction will round out a very fun evening.

For information and tickets either contact me at valentinesinthedark@gmail.com or dinnerinthedark.squarespace.com

For more information about the Foundation Fighting Blindness see their website www.ffb.ca

I see every day how frustrating AMD is for my patients. AMD causes loss of central vision. In its severe form people can no longer read, drive or see the faces of loved ones clearly. Despite excellent physical and cognitive function AMD can place significant limits on the quality of life for those living with the disease. It is also difficult for the children of someone with AMD, who are concerned that vision loss looms in their future. This is one of my motivations in working to raise funds directed at finding a cure.

The other motivation is very personal. My goddaughter Caroline and her brother Rowan have recently been diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa. This devastating condition causes tunnelling of vision into a very narrow central window. Even this window becomes blurred in many people with the disease. A cure is on the horizon but the sooner it is found the more of a difference it will make to people like Caroline and Rowan who are slowly losing vision day by day.

Tags