Help Lewie See More Clearly
Donation protected
My name is Traci, and I would like to introduce you to my son, Lewis.
He is a robust, sweet, ten-year-old boy. Like all ten-year-olds what he wants most is to have friends, be included in activities and be given the opportunity to do his best.
Unlike other ten-year-old boys Lewis has always struggled to see. When he was 4-months old his eyes started to cross and move in funny ways. This was our first indication that something wasn't right. Through a series of doctors we found out that he had tumors on both of his retinas. At 10-months old he had his first eye surgery to correct his alignment. At 18-months old he had the first set of tumors removed from both eyes. Both surgeries were a success at the time; however, the tumors are the kind that come back, and he has had other complications that have forced him to have surgery.....
After surgery....
after surgery.
He had the original alignment surgery, 3 tumors removed from his left eye, one from his right. He even had to have laser surgery on a tear in his left retina. The last surgery was the worst. His left retina was completely detached. His daddy, sister and I sat in the hospital waiting room from 10 AM until almost midnight while he had 9 different procedures done at once. I'll never forget the feeling of the nurse coming out to inform us that it would just be another hour to an hour and a half. She did this at least 4 times that day. He had to have 3 follow-up surgeries after this one and could not participate in Gym class or outdoor recess at school for nearly a year due to the healing process. Through all of this, my son is the most positive, sweetest spirited boy you will ever meet. When at the hospital he makes friends with the other patients and comforts and calms them as they wait to be called in for their own procedures. He thinks nothing of himself and only wants to make others feel more at ease. To this day he still remembers all of their names and asks me if I think he will see them the next time he has to have surgery.
The 4 to 10 hour (usually completed in 2 days) car rides to get to his various doctors are great opportunities for our family to bond with each other. It may sound like a long distance to go, but you do what you have to do to give this beautiful boy his best chance to see. It also helps to have a great support system through our parents, family and friends near and far, church family and school and medical team.
The last piece of the puzzle to this darling boy is that he was diagnosed as moderately autistic when he was about two and a half years old. That certainly hasn't held him back much. Of course he had tons of in-home and in-school therapies and out-patient speech, physical, and occupational therapy to get him to where he is now, but everyone will tell you that he is an amazing young man. The most relavent part of this Autistic piece to this campaign is that it contributes to Lewie being a visual learner. Obviously, we try to do everything we can to improve his vision to give him the best chance at learning. Lewis has always excelled at and loved reading. He was reading 2nd grade chapter books by the time he finished kindergarten. Unfortunately, as the reading level goes up, the font size goes down. Lewie needs print to be at least 26 point font. Even at that font size he holds the book about two inches from his eyes. This leads me to the main reason for this fund raising campaign.
Lewis' vision consultant was able to loan a piece of assistive technology to his school to not only assist him in reading print, but also allows him to see the board and all around the room from his seat. It is called a VisioBook. You can see him participating with his typical peers here:
Prior to the introduction of this tool, Lewie would go up to the white board, memorize as much as he could, go back to his seat, write it down, then repeat the process until all the information he needed was written down. The VisioBook allows him to switch between seeing the board and seeing his paper with just a rotation of the attached camera. The introductory video at the top of this page gives you a quick example of this function.
The VisioBook has been a Godsend at school. It is so useful and versatile that everyone has bought into using it. Most importantly, Lewis sees the many possibilities and doors it opens for him. Since he started using it, less than a month ago, he has said to me on several occasions at home, "I wish I had my VisioBook here." He even took the initiative to ask his vision consultant if he could bring it home for the summer. Unfortunately, it is a very expensive piece of equipment. It is only on loan to the school and they are liable for it if anything happens to it.
This Go Fund Me Campaign is to help us provide this tool to our son at home so he can read, watch movies with the family without having to sit a foot from the TV and block everyone's view, do his homework, watch the traffic outside or see the sunset. It can do many more things for him than you would have the patience to sit here and read.
The amount asked for in this campaign would cover the cost of the VisioBook, a custom carrying case, the powersource and cord as well as shipping.
Lewie will be starting middle school in September 2016. The print in the textbooks will be smaller, the homework will be longer and there will be more expectations for him to complete work at home. We would like to have this tool for him by the time he starts middle school.
Please help us to help our son have this tool at home so he can join in family life and be more independent in his work. This dear one has struggled enough (even if he doesn't think so) for one so young. We just want to have this part of his life be a little more manageable for him if we can make it that way.
Thank you for taking the time to read his story and consider being a part of it. If he could give a hug to everyone of you I know he would do it with a glad and open heart and so would I.
He is a robust, sweet, ten-year-old boy. Like all ten-year-olds what he wants most is to have friends, be included in activities and be given the opportunity to do his best.
Unlike other ten-year-old boys Lewis has always struggled to see. When he was 4-months old his eyes started to cross and move in funny ways. This was our first indication that something wasn't right. Through a series of doctors we found out that he had tumors on both of his retinas. At 10-months old he had his first eye surgery to correct his alignment. At 18-months old he had the first set of tumors removed from both eyes. Both surgeries were a success at the time; however, the tumors are the kind that come back, and he has had other complications that have forced him to have surgery.....
After surgery....
after surgery.
He had the original alignment surgery, 3 tumors removed from his left eye, one from his right. He even had to have laser surgery on a tear in his left retina. The last surgery was the worst. His left retina was completely detached. His daddy, sister and I sat in the hospital waiting room from 10 AM until almost midnight while he had 9 different procedures done at once. I'll never forget the feeling of the nurse coming out to inform us that it would just be another hour to an hour and a half. She did this at least 4 times that day. He had to have 3 follow-up surgeries after this one and could not participate in Gym class or outdoor recess at school for nearly a year due to the healing process. Through all of this, my son is the most positive, sweetest spirited boy you will ever meet. When at the hospital he makes friends with the other patients and comforts and calms them as they wait to be called in for their own procedures. He thinks nothing of himself and only wants to make others feel more at ease. To this day he still remembers all of their names and asks me if I think he will see them the next time he has to have surgery.
The 4 to 10 hour (usually completed in 2 days) car rides to get to his various doctors are great opportunities for our family to bond with each other. It may sound like a long distance to go, but you do what you have to do to give this beautiful boy his best chance to see. It also helps to have a great support system through our parents, family and friends near and far, church family and school and medical team.
The last piece of the puzzle to this darling boy is that he was diagnosed as moderately autistic when he was about two and a half years old. That certainly hasn't held him back much. Of course he had tons of in-home and in-school therapies and out-patient speech, physical, and occupational therapy to get him to where he is now, but everyone will tell you that he is an amazing young man. The most relavent part of this Autistic piece to this campaign is that it contributes to Lewie being a visual learner. Obviously, we try to do everything we can to improve his vision to give him the best chance at learning. Lewis has always excelled at and loved reading. He was reading 2nd grade chapter books by the time he finished kindergarten. Unfortunately, as the reading level goes up, the font size goes down. Lewie needs print to be at least 26 point font. Even at that font size he holds the book about two inches from his eyes. This leads me to the main reason for this fund raising campaign.
Lewis' vision consultant was able to loan a piece of assistive technology to his school to not only assist him in reading print, but also allows him to see the board and all around the room from his seat. It is called a VisioBook. You can see him participating with his typical peers here:
Prior to the introduction of this tool, Lewie would go up to the white board, memorize as much as he could, go back to his seat, write it down, then repeat the process until all the information he needed was written down. The VisioBook allows him to switch between seeing the board and seeing his paper with just a rotation of the attached camera. The introductory video at the top of this page gives you a quick example of this function.
The VisioBook has been a Godsend at school. It is so useful and versatile that everyone has bought into using it. Most importantly, Lewis sees the many possibilities and doors it opens for him. Since he started using it, less than a month ago, he has said to me on several occasions at home, "I wish I had my VisioBook here." He even took the initiative to ask his vision consultant if he could bring it home for the summer. Unfortunately, it is a very expensive piece of equipment. It is only on loan to the school and they are liable for it if anything happens to it.
This Go Fund Me Campaign is to help us provide this tool to our son at home so he can read, watch movies with the family without having to sit a foot from the TV and block everyone's view, do his homework, watch the traffic outside or see the sunset. It can do many more things for him than you would have the patience to sit here and read.
The amount asked for in this campaign would cover the cost of the VisioBook, a custom carrying case, the powersource and cord as well as shipping.
Lewie will be starting middle school in September 2016. The print in the textbooks will be smaller, the homework will be longer and there will be more expectations for him to complete work at home. We would like to have this tool for him by the time he starts middle school.
Please help us to help our son have this tool at home so he can join in family life and be more independent in his work. This dear one has struggled enough (even if he doesn't think so) for one so young. We just want to have this part of his life be a little more manageable for him if we can make it that way.
Thank you for taking the time to read his story and consider being a part of it. If he could give a hug to everyone of you I know he would do it with a glad and open heart and so would I.
Organizer
Traci Hyndman Steele
Organizer
Gwinn, MI
