Go for It - One Man's Approach to Fading Vision

Thomas Wolf never stops. He snowboards, mountain bikes, rollerblades, and skateboards. He's an artist who enjoys photography, acrylics, and creating abstract prints and three-dimensional landscape renderings. He has two master's degrees and works fulltime as an orientation, mobility and rehabilitation specialist at the VA Hospital in Chicago. And later this year, he's getting married. Wolf is doing all this despite being legally blind for the past seven years.

Wolf was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa when he was 10. "I started running into stuff when I played hide and seek at night," he says. Wolf was deemed legally blind at the age of 25, because of his narrow visual field. Though he had been active as a child and young adult, his vision loss caused him to lose interest in his hobbies and sports. "I wasn't mountain biking or snowboarding, and I had stopped skateboarding long before. I didn't know if they would be safe to do," he says.

Wolf credits loved ones, especially his fiancée Kimberly, for inspiring him to reclaim his active lifestyle in recent years. He says, "When Kimberly and I first met, she expressed interest in many of these activities. We went snowboarding a couple of times, and she was hooked. Because this was an activity that I loved but had lost, she really encouraged me to try...and she wanted to try. We went and I would ride with her as she learned." He adds, "I can't waste time. My vision is only getting smaller. I need to do things now."

Snowboarding has become a major passion for Wolf. He competes in a variety of snowboarding events nationally and regionally, many of which have growing divisions for riders with disabilities. Wolf is the 2006 Adaptive Division Mens Gold Medal Champion in overall Freestyle which includes Slope-style and Halfpipe. He wants other enthusiasts, especially kids with visual impairments, to know that there are resources for them to enjoy these activities and even compete in them. Wolf says, "There's probably lots of kids out there with visual impairment who have seen snowboarding - especially with the Olympic coverage last winter - and they need to know that it shouldn't hinder them from going out and doing these things."

Wolf is a member of a couple of teams, Adaptive Action Sports (AAS) and Amped Riders, which provide a variety of resources and opportunities for people with disabilities who want to snowboard, skateboard, and enjoy other related sports. Currently, AAS is putting together a training camp at Windells Snowboard Camp in Oregon where the U.S. snowboard team trains.

Wolf has developed adaptive techniques so he can ensure his enjoyment and safety when he is active. His biggest challenge is accommodating his narrow field of vision. "I've turned into an expert scanner," he says. "I'm constantly moving my eyes around so I can see what's going on in my environment. As my vision decreases, it's even more important to use the scanning technique."

His fiancée is also a big help in mountain biking; she rides ahead of him and communicates upcoming obstacles and curves using hands-free walkie talkies in their backpacks. She also rides ahead of him when they snowboard.

Wolf has designed a t-shirt with VISUALLY IMPAIRED RIDER emblazoned across the front and back of it so other people around him give him some extra room when he is riding.

When it comes to his artwork, Wolf uses a computer to accommodate his narrow visual field, shrinking images down so he can see them more easily. After he's completed a project, he'll enlarge it for printing. He recently had one large print - three feet by three feet - on display at a gallery. Some of Wolf's creations are abstract interpretations of what he sees with his visual impairment.

Though Wolf is trying to enjoy his vision as much as he can while he still has vision left, he's also an FFB donor and very attuned to what's going on in research to find treatments and cures that might someday save or restore his vision. He encourages acquaintances affected by retinal degenerative diseases to stay abreast of the science. "Be active as much as possible," he tells people. That's not a surprising comment coming from a guy who never rests.

Are you a marathon runner or competitive racer? You can use your racing effort to raise money for the Foundation Fighting Blindness through our Race to Cure Blindness program! To learn more visit www.RaceToCureBlindness.org.