Baltimore Chapter Meet the Board

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Jay and LuAnn Blackman

Jay and LuAnn moved to Maryland when he was hired to be administrator at The Wilmer Eye Institute.  He worked with the esteemed Dr. Mort Goldberg, which began their original interest in the cause of blindness and blind research.  Jay is now Chief Operating Officer at Howard County General Hospital, a member of Johns Hopkins Medicine.  Lu Ann teaches at St. Paul’s School for Girls and has a friend whose son has Retinitis Pigmentosa.  In addition, Lu Ann started a small foundation that was in existence for 10 years called “Common Senses.”  Its mission was to provide sports opportunities for blind children.  Jay and LuAnn have chaired the past two Baltimore Visionary Awards Dinners and are chairing the 2013 dinner.  Jay and Lu Ann served as the co-Presidents of the Baltimore Chapter for two years and in 2013 they were named National Trustees.

Chris Day

Chris Day is a dental hygienist, wife and mother.  Chris and her husband, Doug, have two fabulous children, Derrick age 6 and Meredith age 4.  Both Derrick and Meredith are blind.  They both have a rare form of RP called LCA, which causes blindness from birth.

Through the Foundation, Chris and her family got involved in Project 3000, a genetic study striving to help those affected by LCA. It was inspired by Foundation-funded clinical trials for a gene therapy that has restored vision in one child and a handful of adults whose LCA was caused by a defect in a specific gene.

Over the last four Baltimore Vision Walks, Chris’ family team, Walking for a Day, has brought in roughly $7,000, and the family is now featured in a promotional video shown during the Foundation’s dinner events.

Chris and her family are preparing the children to live with visual impairments. Derrick and Meredith are Braille readers and cane users, but, I truly believe that there will be a cure in their lifetime, or at least a treatment. The Foundation has been so supportive in providing information and resources. What I love most about the Foundation is that they are striving to find a cure!

Bonnie Hensel
York PA

Until I met my husband, Ted, I had never heard of Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP).  When he told me he had a hereditary eye disease that caused night blindness and that he could be blind by the time he was 40, I was sure that would never happen.  And I never considered the possibility that our children would inherit the disease.  I had no idea how wrong I was, or that I would be thrown into a world of eye doctor appointments, clinical trials and yes, sometimes panic and heartbreak.

All three of our children have RP in varying degrees.  When my children were first diagnosed at a young age, we were told there was no hope, no cure, and no treatment, get them guide dogs and teach them Braille.  Bryan is the least affected so far.  He has night blindness, but his peripheral vision is not yet affected.  Laura no longer drives, uses a white cane, and has just recently received a Guide Dog.  She still works, but has tunnel vision.  She and her husband, Philip, have my two beautiful grandchildren, Ashton (4 ½) and Emma (2 ½).  Ashton has just been diagnosed with RP.  Sara still drives, in daylight only, but has the most problems.  Along with the typical RP, she has edema (a condition found in “some” RP cases) and glaucoma.

I discovered Foundation Fighting Blindness when my children were small, and registered my family.  For many years that was the extent of my involvement with the Foundation.  About four years ago, I received an eblast from the Foundation for a Coffee Social sponsored by the Shiloh Lions in my area, to meet other people with low vision problems and to hear about an event they sponsored to raise funds for the Vision Walk in Baltimore.  That was the beginning of my real involvement with the Foundation.

The Foundation Fighting Blindness has given me a means to do my part to help find a cure.  I no longer feel so helpless.  It’s game on – we’re going to beat this thing.

Pictured above: Bonnie (far left) with her teamates