Help Restore Sam Raty's Eyesight
Donation protected
Five years ago my then 30 year old brother Sam started experiencing difficulty seeing. I first noticed it when we were at the cottage and he complained about not being able to read the newspaper in our candlelit cabin. I chuckled and said welcome to your 30s; it had happened to me as well although not as early. He laughed it off. As the weeks went by however his sight continued to decline, now precipitously, to the extent that he noticed almost daily degradation.
Over the course of several months none of the eye doctors, neuro ophthalmologists or other specialists he saw were able to diagnose why this was happening. It was only after visiting the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami that he got some answers. And they weren't good.
Sam was diagnosed with Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) , a mitochondrially inherited (from mother to son) degenerative condition that impacts central vision. An exceedingly rare disease (1:50,000 primarily Northern European males), the variant of LHON that Sam has left him with approximately 5% total vision within 4 months. Turns out I also have the LHON gene but mine didn't mutate whilst Sam's did.
The last 5 years have been extremely difficult as Sam has struggled to regain his independence and find a sense of fulfillment. What is additionally heartbreaking to me is he doesn't really know what Miia and Emmi, his lovely 4 and 2 year old nieces who adore him look like.
Recently however, we have learned about the Restore Vision Clinic in Berlin that, amongst other conditions, treats LHON. Whilst the severity of Sam's condition will most likely prevent him from ever having full vision again, the clinic has confirmed he is a viable candidate for moderate improvement to his eyesight.
Imagine for a second what even moderate improvement to your eyesight would mean if you have virtually none.
The treatment lasts 10 days and the clinic has provided us with an opening in late November to attend.. The total cost of the treatment, out-patient stays and airfares is north of C$15,000. Although we would love to raise more we are appealing to you in hopes that we can raise C$10,000 to help offset the costs.
For those of you in the Greater Toronto Area we will provide some of our mother's Famous Finnish Meat Donuts (Mama Raty's Meat Pies) to all of those how donate more than $50. For everyone, we will provide regular updates both during the trip and afterwards documenting the experience and Sam's progress.
Thank you for reading this and considering contributing
Markus Raty
on behalf of Sam Raty
September 19, 2019
Toronto, Canada
Over the course of several months none of the eye doctors, neuro ophthalmologists or other specialists he saw were able to diagnose why this was happening. It was only after visiting the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami that he got some answers. And they weren't good.
Sam was diagnosed with Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) , a mitochondrially inherited (from mother to son) degenerative condition that impacts central vision. An exceedingly rare disease (1:50,000 primarily Northern European males), the variant of LHON that Sam has left him with approximately 5% total vision within 4 months. Turns out I also have the LHON gene but mine didn't mutate whilst Sam's did.
The last 5 years have been extremely difficult as Sam has struggled to regain his independence and find a sense of fulfillment. What is additionally heartbreaking to me is he doesn't really know what Miia and Emmi, his lovely 4 and 2 year old nieces who adore him look like.
Recently however, we have learned about the Restore Vision Clinic in Berlin that, amongst other conditions, treats LHON. Whilst the severity of Sam's condition will most likely prevent him from ever having full vision again, the clinic has confirmed he is a viable candidate for moderate improvement to his eyesight.
Imagine for a second what even moderate improvement to your eyesight would mean if you have virtually none.
The treatment lasts 10 days and the clinic has provided us with an opening in late November to attend.. The total cost of the treatment, out-patient stays and airfares is north of C$15,000. Although we would love to raise more we are appealing to you in hopes that we can raise C$10,000 to help offset the costs.
For those of you in the Greater Toronto Area we will provide some of our mother's Famous Finnish Meat Donuts (Mama Raty's Meat Pies) to all of those how donate more than $50. For everyone, we will provide regular updates both during the trip and afterwards documenting the experience and Sam's progress.
Thank you for reading this and considering contributing
Markus Raty
on behalf of Sam Raty
September 19, 2019
Toronto, Canada
Organiser
Markus Raty
Organiser
North York, ON