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Newsroom Saving the Gift of Sight in Ohio Our eyes are our personal cameras capturing colorful images that create the unique experiences and stories of our lives. However, illness, aging and lack of access to consistent eye care can threaten these irreplaceable lenses. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, every five seconds an adult will lose his or her sight completely, and every minute a child will be forced into a world of darkness due to complete vision loss. For one young Ohio boy named Mitchell, an annual pre-school vision exam, which was provided free through an MDRT Foundation funded non-profit program called Prevent Blindness Ohio (PBO), helped save his gift of sight. During Mitchell’s vision exam, results showed that he was losing his sight in his left eye, which further tests proved was due to a rare form of eye cancer called retinoblastoma. In 1999, the MDRT Foundation awarded a $3,000 grant to PBO to assist with funding of the Vision Care Outreach (VCO) program. This grant was sponsored by Christian E. Laver, a 14-year MDRT member and Bronze knight from Columbus, Ohio. PBO, located in Columbus, Ohio, was founded in 1957 and is dedicated to promoting sight conservation and preventing blindness in Ohio by providing access to free ongoing vision care services. The VCO program provides disadvantaged clients with treatments that they are unable to afford themselves. Services that VCO provides free include professional eye exams, prescriptive eyeglasses and eye surgery, all of which are donated by generous companies and eye-care professionals. The ultimate goal of the VCO program is to reduce the number of vision loss and impairment cases in Ohio by providing access to ongoing, comprehensive vision care services. Sherrill Williams, president and CEO of PBO said, “We all need to protect our gift of health and sight. That’s why we provide check-ups for eyes. We want all Americans to enjoy their wonderful gift of sight.” Today, following the removal of his left eye and months of chemotherapy, Mitchell is in remission and has adjusted to life with a prosthetic eye with continued emotional and physical support from PBO.
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