My Low Vision Glasses Campaign

I usually don't like to talk about myself unless I really have to because there is always someone out there who may have it worse than i do, but in this case I felt compelled to make this campaign. I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read it. My name is Brandon Parks. I was born on May 20th, 1989 in Indianapolis, Indiana. I was born 5 months premature at 1lb 6oz. and as a result I developed Retinopathy Of Prematurity. Retinopathy Of Prematurity is a disease that occures in infants from birth when they're lungs aren't fully developed and they have to receive intense neonatal care in the form of an oxygen treatment. In the most severe case abnormal blood vessel growth detaches the retina from the wall of the eye. Depending on the severity of detachment sufferers are rendered blind. I was lucky enough to recieve cryotherapy in order to save the vision I have left- thanks to Dr. Ellis and the Midwest Eye Institute. I have stage IV which is luckily the worst your eyes can get before going completely blind. My eyes do strain as a result with what they can see so this also causes constant migraines and headaches. While I am legally blind I try not to let it stop me from doing most things anyone else can. My visual acuity is 20/400. The standard for deeming someone legally blind is anywhere past 20/200. In school i made do with enlarged books and going to the nearest scanner to enlarge papers. I didn't like using aids because it made me stand out- especially using a monocular to see the board. It definitely made me an easy target for bullying and teasing throughout my entire academic career. What kept me going was the small group of friends I have and my hobbies like reading, gaming, and drawing. When I had time to read on my own I primarily stuck to thrillers of all kinds, weather it was sci-fi, military, or spy novels. My vision usually has my nose touching the paper unless I'm using a kindle or my smartphone to read on which are great- aside from the fact that I'm not holding a real book. Reading definitely went hand in hand with gaming because it was an escape from reality. Gaming has and still is something that immerses me in the way that a good book does. I get lost in worlds that help me escape the stresses i personally face. When gaming I am usually on an even playing field as long as I can see my T.V. or computer monitor well enough. Being able to top other players who may not have a disability is a rewarding experience and it can get quite exhilarating. It also lets me experience things I may not get to experience in reality. You can be a soldier, a cop, (two things I've always wanted to be.) A spy, or even a superhero. The possibilities are only as limited as our imaginations. Gaming can sometimes give you unique experiences that reading and movies may not be able to accomplish. That is a big reason I wouldn't mind getting into the industry. It's all of these things blended together that led me to love and appreciate drawing and writing comics even more. It propelled me to push past my so called "limits" and really try to create worlds and stories of my own through illustration. Whenever I had a piece of paper in front of me I always seemed to get this urge to draw or doodle something. I obviously love contrast- it's easy to see relationships between light and dark- so comics and graphic novels felt natural to me. I love how graphic novels in black and white can achieve the same level of detail as colored comics if executed the right way. Graphic novels require fine detail work and despite my vision I tend to draw smaller details well. The challenge of it always has me learning and adapting tricks to keep drawing work that I am proud of. Through my visual impairment I have learned how to think on the fly and create my own solutions to problems. I love drawing things that make people stop and look. That's something that attracts me to graphic design; making things that are eye catching. It is extremely difficult in the job market right now and I feel that E-sight and devices like Iris Vision or bioptic glasses can help people in my situation. It's hard to find a job that will accommodate someone who has no license and while I am trying to finish bioptic training and make my way into more serious computer graphics work I am at a disadvantage because I am not mobile. I am asking for help in raising funds to purchase E-sight or a more suitable equivalent to help my quality of life and my career. While an artist is judged by their talent and skills shown through their portfolio- it's disheartening to believe there are places who would deny you work because your disability holds you back. These low vision aids are something I would use in my everyday life and would give me a necessary leg up in the job market. The playing field would for once be leveled. I could compete for jobs and go into interviews knowing that nothing would be holding me back. The only issue right now in getting these low vision aids is pricing. E-sight cost $10,000, Iris Vision cost $2,500, and bioptic driving glasses cost $2,000+ depending on the model. I want to get a good pair of bioptic driving glasses and/or E-sight depending on if it can be adapted for driving. I really only want one device if I find it suits all my needs. I would ideally want to raise $15,000. Any other money raised after the purchase will go to another legally blind individual who needs E-sight or Iris Vision and can't afford it. I do not want anyone else in my position to struggle with pricing like I am. Everybody who has low vision should be able to get the help they need and use any assistive aids if possible. Thank you for reading this and I hope you consider donating to my cause. I always dread asking for help because as a man, a brother, a husband, and a son in his twenties I should be providing for myself and my family a hell of a lot more than I currently am. So I am swallowing my pride and asking for help so that I can explore every avenue possible when it comes to working harder and providing more.