Blind San Juan College student raises funds for high-tech glasses
By James Fenton, The Daily Times, Farmington, N.M. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
After doctors examined her, Abeyta was diagnosed with Leber's congenital amaurosis, a rare eye disease that affects 1 in 80,000 people worldwide.
"They found I could see some, but it wasn't until I was 15 that it nose-dived, and I lost it all," Abeyta said. "By the time I was 18, it was gone. Just in the past two years, somehow I regained some of it back. I was happy."
Today, the 22-year-old
She hopes to raise
A Canadian company, eSight Corp., launched the product a year ago and has about 130 users of the device. Abeyta is hopeful she'll be the company's next client.
On Saturday, she is hosting a fundraiser at her dad's bar, the
She also has set up a fundraising website to help her raise the money necessary to purchase the electronic glasses.
"I didn't really have a lot of friends when I was younger," Abeyta said. "Kids stole my cane, took stuff and hid it. I spent a lot of time in practice rooms, playing and signing. It's what I love to do."
The glasses, which look like futuristic ski goggles, run computer software that configures images using a high-definition camera. The camera processes and magnifies images that are then fed into two LED screens in front of the user's eyes.
"Quite honestly, eSight is the best way to go without messing with my eyes, and it's also the cheapest way to go," said Abeyta, who gets around now with the help of her guide dog, a labrador named Velour. "It's the price of a car, but these are like a car. When you put them on, you're able to see and get around. That's what I want."
"What's really incredible about LeAnna is that the goal isn't just for herself," West said by phone on Wednesday. "LeAnna wants to raise the funds to help other people with low vision get the life-changing technology."
While she's hoping to top the
On Monday, Abeyta will travel with her dad to
"I have no doubts that the eyeglasses are going to work," she said.
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