With the help of low vision therapy, millions of people with vision loss can remain actively engaged in their personal and professional lives. Sadly, however, while these types of services are readily available, they are under-utilized. People in need of vision rehabilitation services are not being referred by their doctors; they and their families remain unaware that help exists. This problem continues to grow as more people lose sight as a function of age and diabetes.

 

Increasing public awareness of services is an important component of Reader’s Digest Partners for Sight Foundation’s (RDPFS) mission to help the visually impaired lead independent lives. Approached by Joe Lovett, Peabody Award winning filmmaker, with a request to fund his documentary “Going Blind,” RDPFS recognized the outreach opportunities. What makes the story so poignant is that Lovett himself is losing vision to glaucoma.

           

At first the vision loss didn’t seem to make a difference, but when Lovett realized it was progressing, he needed to know what to do if he lost it completely. His medical doctors seemed uncomfortable addressing a sightless future. He started speaking to people on the street, people with canes and guide dogs, asking them how they lost their vision and how they coped. “They were so generous,” he says “and their stories so compelling, that I decided everyone should know what is possible.”

 

“Low vision service providers have had limited success in convincing the medical community of the need to refer patients for services,” says Susan Olivo, RDPFS Vice President. “But Joe’s story seems to resonate. We’re heartened by the attention the film has generated even while still in editing.” With his background in health documentaries, Lovett was invited to show excerpts at the World Ophthalmology Congress in Hong Kong, and to speak from a patient’s point of view at the American Academy of Ophthalmology. “We’re looking forward to the film’s completion and distribution on television and the web,” says Olivo. 

 

Other support for the film has come from Pfizer, various foundations and the National Eye Institute.

 

Further excerpts can be seen on the website: www.goingblindmovie.com.