Listen to this empowering and eye-opening episode that invites listeners into the extraordinary world of Shelby, a resilient and inspiring young woman who was born blind. Throughout this episode, Shelby explores the many aspects of her morning routine, shedding light on how she navigates her world. From waking up and orienting herself to the day ahead to choosing outfits, preparing meals, and getting ready for work or school, this episode delves into the practical, emotional, and creative aspects of Shelby's mornings.

Dr. Phillip Hessburg is an authority on driverless automobiles, and this episode is all about what artificial vision in automobiles means for the visually impaired community. Interestingly,  Dr. Hessburg was also on the organization of Retinopathy prematurity, associate Retinal Disease Board for many years, and he has a long history with our organization.

This episode dives into the future of mobility for the visually impaired and is a fantastic preview of technology that has the potential to transform the lives of many. 

Through Our Eye's is again looking at the Parent's Perspective. We speak with Alissa Williams, the mother of Brandon Warner, who was featured in episode #2. 

Alissa outlines the challenges she faced in identifying Brandon's condition early in life and gives a detailed story that can be very helpful for mothers that find themselves in her shoes. 

Alissa's story will take you on a journey. From learning braille to learning calculus, graduating college, and pursuing employment, Alissa and Brandon's story exhibits the possibilities available to the visually impaired community. 

This podcast is made possible by the Pediatric Retinal Research Foundation.

This week's episode is about the history of the white cane for the visually impaired. Shelby, who uses the cane every day, will talk about her experience, and Dr. Droste will talk more about its history. If you're someone who values inclusivity and accessibility, you will be blown away by the powerful insights and perspectives shared in this episode.

This episode talks about the evolution of the white cane and its significance in the blind community, as well as the challenges and triumphs that Shelby and Dr. Droste have faced in their respective journeys. 

If you're interested in learning more about the history of the white cane or just want to hear some truly inspiring personal stories, we highly recommend listening to this podcast. Trust us; it's well worth your time. #whitecanehistory #inclusivity #accessibility #podcastrecommendation #inspiringstories #empathy #understanding #compassion #blindcommunity

In this episode, we highlight one major challenge to living independently for the visually impaired, cooking. Bre has a particular interest in cooking and walks us through some of the challenges that she has overcome as a visually impaired person in the kitchen.

Regarding working in the kitchen, Bre prefers baking over other methods. Here's a short excerpt from this episode:  "...one of my favorite tools that I have are the large print measuring cups. These measuring cups are high contrast and has something on the handle part that's tactile, with a little bit of braille on it."

This episode is packed with all kinds of special tips and tricks for visually impaired people that are getting ready to start learning more about living independently!

Meet Wallace Stuckey, a young man that is a true inspiration. Wallace was born with retinopathy prematurity and grew up legally blind. Wallace faced many obstacles but refused to let them hold him back. Through hard work and determination, he graduated from college and is now a valued US House of Representatives employee as a Website Compliance Accessibility Analyst. Wallace's story shows us that anything is possible with perseverance and a positive attitude. Let's give a round of applause to this amazing individual! 👏🏼🙌🏼

In episode 12, Dr. Droste speaks with Wallace, who has a relatable story of growing up into a young professional who was diagnosed with retinopathy prematurity as a child. 

We introduced Shelby in episode 3, and here in episode 11, we get to hear all the awesome details of what Shelby has accomplished from her parents. Shelby is quite humble, and her parents Bill & Debbie, have A LOT to share regarding the many adventures and exploits of their brave and ambitious daughter. 

Bill & Debbie Craig also share their story of the events leading up to receiving the news of Shelby's blindness and their approach to parenting.  

"It was a very steep and quick learning curve for us. We had to struggle with having two kids. One of them with a severe disability and trying to navigate through a school system that was not very supportive.

Fighting school districts and fighting insurance companies. It was a very intensive time for us. We'd been married five years before we decided to have kids, this was definitely a shock. We had to learn as we went. Both Shelby and her twin had epilepsy, so we were not only battling that, we were both full-time and, you know, fully employed and trying to juggle two babies back and forth to Michigan's surgeries, unsure of what the future holds." - Bill Craig

In this episode, we talk with Brey and her dad, Brett who states:

"...When Brey was younger and first diagnosed, there were the initial reactions of just trying to understand what FEVR is and what the implications are, and then asking what steps we need to take to help her, and what are the long-term implications."

We introduced Brey in episode 1, and here in episode 10, we get to hear more of her story as well as her Dad's paternal perspective on raising a child with FEVR. 

Brett's heartwarming stories of raising young Brey will make you laugh, cry, and understand what the opportunities and challenges are when raising a child with FEVR.

An orphan disease is a rare disease or condition that affects fewer than 200,000 people in the United States.  Oftentimes, due to the rarity of these diseases and the lack of a large patient population, finding support and resources for treatment options is a challenge. Receiving a diagnosis of one of these rare diseases can leave an individual or family with a very isolated and lonely feeling. In this episode, Lisa Lovasco talks about how their family navigated her daughter Aria's FEVR diagnosis. The story of the Lovasco family, like many others starts with feelings of loneliness and despair.  However, perseverance lead to finding community, support groups and advocacy initiatives that instilled hope for their journey.

“…For most of us, our problem is not that we can’t see. No, the problem is that society holds low expectations of us as blind people… there’s so much in the world that is inaccessible, but we’re capable of so much when we know that we can do it and when we have a team of people to support us….”

This quote is from Amy Albin, who was born with Leber’s congenital amaurosis, an eye disorder that primarily affects the retina that rendered Amy blind from birth.  Amy is now getting ready to graduate college and enter the workforce. In this episode, Amy tells the fantastic story of navigating life and how others in similar scenarios can do the same.