My husband has Retinitis pigmentosa (RP)  which is a group of rare, genetic disorders that involve a breakdown and loss of cells in the retina—which is the light sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye. It begins
with loss of night vision which leads to loss of the peripheral sight, ultimately losing all of the visual field aka "tunnel vision." My husband was diagnosed in high school after struggling to see the soccer field during a competition. After multiple doctor appointments and tests, he was told he would begin losing his vision and he would eventually be blind by the age of 30.

Well he is 35 and he can still see, so that is a blessing, however there have been vision losses. He does not
drive at night and has lost a majority of his peripheral vision, he has had cataract surgery on both eyes and
each day he feels his visual field changes. Looking at him you would never know...until he accidentally trips over a wet floor sign that he could not see or doesn't reach out to reciprocate a hand shake. He is the most persistent and determined person I know. We have a 7 year old son who last year we decided to have genetic testing done to confirm whether or not he had the dominat gene (its a 50-50 chance you pass it on to your children). We were absolutely elated to find out he does not have the gene!!! As if that was not enough of a blessing, recently there was a story on NBC about a medication
that is specific for people with RP that helps to restore and reduce the vision loss.

The biggest part of the story was that the cost for each eye is $425,000.00 for a whopping total if both eyes are done of $850,000.00. The medication is called Luxturna and may not be covered by insurance...but how
can you put a price on being able to see your son grow up!? I am a nurse and work
full time in the hospital as many people have 2 working parents in the home, however there is no way we
would be able to afford this treatment. 

I was actually seeing a patient and she asked me about my personal life after I helped gain her IV access, and she told me to start this page. She told me to "show my love on this Valentines Day."  She also gave me a deadline to complete the task!! :) She told me by Monday I needed to have this up and running and she was going to check!! So I am staying accountable for her and my husband. 

Mike does not know I have made this page and is quite honestly he is"too proud" to ever ask for help. I however see it as a gift and feel that even if we don't reach our goal or can only get one eye treated it is worth a try. I hope you can find it in
your heart to help someone who isso deserving of this. Thank you!

**UPDATE** after many phone calls and help from everyone on here...we have been in contact with Mike’s insurance company who has stated they have some coverage options for this medication!!! We don’t know
how much at this point but we are trying to create an idea as to the total cost! There are only 4 places in the
country that can preform the procedure so we will have to travel. Whatever donations are raised we will pay it forward and give the remaining donations to fighting blindness organization /foundation for the blind to
try and help the research continue!!  We will adjust the end goal when we know for sure! We feel more than blessed at this point...GOD is working in all the ways!

Anna Durstine