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Brooke Pernice is not your typical 14-year-old girl. A blossoming country and western singer, she’s released a CD, “Help from Above,” and sung the national anthem before Major League Baseball games in Los Angeles and San Diego. She has strong faith, patriotism, and is also a remarkable history buff. She soaks up information about World War II like a seasoned historian, even quoting the likes of Winston Churchill. If that wasn’t enough, she happens to be the daughter of Tom Pernice, Jr. – a golfer on the PGA Tour.
 But Brooke was also born blind from Leber congenital amarousis. And for two years, Brooke was given prognoses that were far worse than blindness. Tom and Sydney Pernice were told she would be mentally retarded and unable to stand. It was even suggested that part of her brain was missing. Needless to say, the Pernices were devastated.
At first, the family relied on strong faith to get them through the fear and uncertainty surrounding their daughter’s future. Ironically, Brooke emerged to be a little girl who wouldn’t know the meaning of fear and uncertainty. At the age of four, she got up on stage in front of a large crowd at a PGA family outing at Disney World, and sang a tune by the Australian duo Savage Garden. Brooke now relishes the opportunity to sing before a live audience, no matter how many thousands may be listening. She’s also not shy about going head-to-head with any adult in debating history, politics, or religion.
FFB is fortunate to have the passion of Brooke and the entire Pernice family behind our urgent mission to bring an end to all retinal degenerative diseases. In fact, she performed at the inaugural Kansas City VisionWalk which took placeon Saturday, June 28. And with Brooke at the microphone, the voice for treatments and cures couldn’t have been louder or stronger. Brooke's VisionWalk team raisedmore than $50,000.
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