Help Bradley See with eSight

Brad suffers from an incurable retinal degenerative disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa, also known as RP. He was born with the disease which began affecting his vision at a young age and has continued to slowly deteriorate his peripheral vision. A few years ago he gave in to the fact that he needed to begin using a white cane, and a few months later was able to attend guide dog school where he was able to receive Mike.

Living with only about 8 degrees of central vision is no easy task, and facing the uncertainty of when or if the disease will leave him completely blind is quite a terrifying thought. Like everyone, Brad has bad days when faced with this idea, but through it all he remains strong. He never seeks pity, and many times will never even ask for help, always being determined to accomplish as many tasks as possible on his own.

Brad is dedicated to his family, his faith, his job, and his football (Go Phins!). I have seen him many times do literally anything he could physically or financially to help someone in need, never asking for anything in return.

Last week, Brad was afforded the opportunity to meet with a representative of eSight Eyewear to try on a pair of their eSight glasses. These glasses are an amazing gadget, allowing someone like Brad to see more of his everyday life. They gather the picture in front of the user and condense it into the user’s remaining field of vision, allowing them to see the bigger picture. There are other features for low vision users to help make everyday tasks easier to see, including reading computer screens, watching tv, reading menus, etc.

Normally when looking at a person, Brad’s vision would only allow him to see a very small portion of their face such as one eye and a portion of the nose. During the visit Brad put the glasses on and looked at me, and for the first time in many years was able to see my entire face. I cannot describe to you the emotions that I felt when the smile came across his face. It was really an amazing moment. I am including a link to my YouTube video of this moment:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh7198r4iII

 Brad and I have a 5 year old daughter, and he does as much as he can to be a “normal” dad for her. He is actively involved in as much as possible with her daily activities. I often catch him staring at her, studying as many details as he possibly can, trying to ingrain them in his mind in case the day comes that he can no longer see her. As happy as he was to see my face, I cannot imagine the joy he’d find if he were able to better see our child.

 As expected with this sort of technology, the eSight glasses do not come cheap. The total cost to purchase a pair is $10,000.

Today we received an offer from eSight that would slightly reduce our costs. We have to raise this money by the end of the year to receive the discount.

 Brad would never ask for himself, and that’s why I am setting this up. Brad's family desperately wants to give him the opportunity to see better with the remaining vision he has.

Any help  would be so appreciated. The funds will be used to purchase a pair of eSight eyewear and pay for the required updated prescription/eye exam to get them.

If you would like to learn more about eSight, their website is https://www.esighteyewear.com

Thank you again.