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Just a few years after graduating from college, Joan Creviston was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a disease she learned would slowly steal her vision. “I went to the doctor because I thought I needed glasses,” she recalls. “The doctor very unceremoniously told me, ‘You don’t need glasses. You’re going blind.’” It was initially hard for Joan to accept the diagnosis because she didn’t experience any of the effects that doctors and specialists said would eventually happen. She was still driving, living on her own and working as an interior designer. Her father,
Over time, Joan’s vision began to deteriorate. The change in her vision led her to leave her job as an interior designer after 12 years and pursue another career. She chose an area she is very passionate about – exercise training – and became a Master Level Certified Personal Trainer and Group Exercise Instructor. She also started to join her father when he volunteered at Foundation events. Joan’s participation with the Foundation gradually evolved over time. In fact, after Joan was married, she and her husband, Duane, served as co-presidents of the Chicago affiliate for four years. During that time, they were able to attend one of the Foundation’s VISIONS conferences held in Chicago. “I really liked it,” Joan remembers. “It was one of the first times I actively got involved speaking with other people who were affected. It was wonderfully cathartic. I felt like I was stronger when I was among the people I shared my tragedy with.” One of Joan and Duane’s biggest accomplishments as co-presidents was organizing a 5K walk called People and Paws Walk for the Cause. The event was held for three years, raising between $20,000 and $42,000 each year. Some time later, the Foundation started its national signature fundraising program, VisionWalk. Joan prides herself on being asked by some of the Foundation’s staff about how she organized her walk. “I like to think that I was sort of instrumental in starting the Chicago VisionWalk, indirectly,” she notes happily. It’s certainly a good thing she did because the Foundation’s VisionWalk program blossomed into a hugely successful fundraising opportunity. Since the program’s inception in 2006, VisionWalk has raised more than $13 million nationally. “The walk is still very much our focus. Duane and I are very involved with VisionWalk,” says Joan. Their team, Team Creviston’s Vision Quest, has raised more than $100,000 over the years. Like most VisionWalk teams around the country, Joan and her husband reach out to family, friends, neighbors and colleagues for support of VisionWalk. To offer some incentive, those who donate $200 or more receive an invitation to a Team Creviston barbecue, where Joan’s husband makes his famously delicious ribs and pulled pork. “We like to do anything that we can to help make a difference and be involved at the same time,” says Joan. She and her husband extend their involvement with the Foundation to other fundraising efforts as well. “The Foundation has just become part of my fabric. As long as I have RP, I will be forever tied to the Foundation. I am always thinking about the Foundation and ways I can donate. Everything I do is going to help bring everybody closer to a cure.” More than 20 years after her diagnosis, Joan is still greeting each day with a smile. She focuses on the good things in her life, like her wonderfully supportive husband and their sweet great dane, Bessa (“Kiss” in Spanish). After more than 25 years in the fitness industry, she is working to start a new business of online instructional exercise videos to keep her passion alive. “I have to remain hopeful,” says Joan. “I don’t think I can afford to feel any other way because the alternative is just unacceptable. I am optimistic that there are going to be some significant things coming.” Today, Joan’s visual field is a scant 10 degrees, but her determination is stronger than ever. |
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