Dear Friends and Family,

I’ve been contemplating in sharing my story and the reason why now I am doing so, it’s because I can make things a little easier on my day-to-day life and I need your help.

Many of you know that I am legally blind. Sharing my story will give you an idea of my everyday challenges that are basic to those with sight versus someone like me. I was diagnosed with RP (Retinitis Pigmentosa) in 1992, I was only 25 years old. Can you imagine being diagnosed at such an early age of a disease that eventually you become blind and there is no cure, and it was so rare that scientists were not studying cases like mine at the time? It was devastating; however, I knew I had no choice but to adapt to my new life. As years went by, the disease progressed, and my eyesight continues to deteriorate. To give you a little idea of how I see, it’s like putting Vaseline on your glasses and only have a very small area where you can see out (like tunnel vision). As I get older, it only becomes worst.

Therefore, I am asking friends, family and the public (please share my GoFundMe Link) to help me purchase this amazing tool that I will describe below, in which, will help me with my day-to-day responsibilities and make it easier and reduce time for simplest of task. I am trying to raise as much as I can because this is very expensive and unfortunately no insurance will pay. If you know of any organizations that might be willing to help, please pass along. Your help is greatly appreciated. The cost of this life changing device is $4,000. Any amount of money you can donate towards making this purchase will change my life significantly. Thank you in advance for helping me reach my goal.

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” Helen Keller

This amazing tool is called “OrCam MyEyes”. Glasses with a device attached that provides the following:

OrCam MyEye’s features – text reading, facial recognition, product identification, and more – can be activated with voice commands! Simply speak “Hey OrCam,” followed by the voice command for complete hands-free usage of the device.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwibq_23qcrzAhV8TTABHS-oBTkQFnoECAgQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.orcam.com%2Fen%2Fmyeye2%2F&usg=AOvVaw0Ns1UtfMGJk_GDBvQsp7hi

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I will be happy to educate you further.

Much Love,

Marisol Rivera