Your Community » Stories of Hope
A Passion for Play-by-Play
Jeremy Kreisberg’s passion has always been sports broadcasting. A devout fan of the New York Mets since he was a young kid, he spent many summer nights listening to the radio play-by-play of the team’s games. He also regularly called into sports radio talk shows to give his analyses and opinions, and earned a reputation with the program hosts for being rather insightful for a young fan.
However, last year on Halloween, he received unexpected and very difficult news about his eyesight. His ophthalmologist diagnosed him with retinitis pigmentosa, a progressive retinal disease that was already robbing him of his peripheral vision and ability to see in the dark. The news was crushing. Jeremy’s parents, Wendy and Louis, took him to see Dr. Eliot Berson, a renowned, Foundation-funded clinician and researcher at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary of Harvard Medical School, who prescribed vitamin A and DHA supplements to slow his vision loss as much as possible until a better treatment or cure is found. While Jeremy is very aware of the uncertain future for his vision, he is going after his broadcasting ambitions with as much enthusiasm and determination as ever. Fortunately, he still has good central vision and doesn’t require any assistive or adaptive resources. In support of Jeremy and his passionate quest for a career in sports broadcasting, the Kreisberg family has rallied to support the Foundation Fighting Blindness and the research that may someday cure his disease. Judy Fisher, Jeremy’s aunt, discovered the Foundation on the Internet just days after his diagnosis, and she and Wendy attended a Westchester-Fairfield Chapter meeting shortly thereafter. It was there that they found support and the opportunity to be a part of the drive for a cure. Wendy credits Evan Mittman, a donor and active member of the chapter, for being the first one to provide them with comfort and hope. “Evan was great. He sat me down and told me that Jeremy was going to be ok. He gave me so much encouragement,” she recalls. Wendy organized a team for the 2009 Westchester-Fairfield VisionWalk, bringing in more than $18,000. A preschool teacher, she reached out to her class’ parents who donated generously, as did the friends and family in her neighborhood. “We were touched by the outpouring of support for Jeremy. He is a very well-liked kid; many people included beautiful letters about Jeremy with their contributions,” says Wendy. In addition to fundraising, Wendy learns everything she can about Foundation-funded retinal research by attending chapter meetings, Vision Seminars, and other educational events. She provides a summary of what she learns to Jeremy. While he is interested in hearing about the progress toward a cure, his focus right now is getting into the broadcast booth and behind the microphone. And for that, he has a great team behind him to make sure that dream will come true and last season after season after season. |
||
