Right around his seventieth birthday, my grandpa was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration. This disease, which affects nearly sixty million people worldwide, causes vision distortion. Little by little, my family and I began to take notice of my grandpa’s inability to do the things he once loved. His license was taken away, he was no longer able to read the newspaper or to decipher his hand of cards, and he began looking at loved ones out of the corner of his eye. I soon found out that macular degeneration is not only incurable, but it is also believed that this disease has genetic causes. For me, this meant that I might not only watch macular degeneration steal my grandpa’s vision, but I might watch my dad and aunt struggle with it one day as well.

Ten years of my life went by knowing that both my grandpa and his sister had macular degeneration. Finally, I decided that I had to do something to fight back. After much consideration, I decided that a walk-a-thon would be the best way to collect donations for macular degeneration research and get the rest of my community informed, motivated, and involved with the cause.

I organized a walk-a-thon which took place in October 2008 and collected donations for The Macular Degeneration Foundation’s research fund. I sent out business letters, put up flyers in local stores, churches, schools, and restaurants, approached the mayor of my town, contacted newspapers and had an article written, and appeared on a cable television show for my town. I spoke in front of the students at my school and to the teams at my cheerleading gym. With the enthusiasm and generosity of my family, peers, and others from my community, I raised $9,080 for the Foundation and gave my grandpa hope for future generations.

Others can help by becoming informed about macular degeneration. Knowing symptoms is especially important for early diagnosis. Donations can be made to the Macular Degeneration Foundation through the website (www.eyesight.org) or via mail (Macular Degeneration Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 531313 Henderson, NV 89053).