Name: Michael Watts

Age: 18
Grade: 11
Teacher: Mrs. Woodford
Short description of what I’ve written: The effects of my eye disorder, Retinitis
Pigmentosa.

Retinitis Pigmentosa: A Vile Eye Disorder

“Crash!” My vision was blurry and my head was throbbing so much that it almost
felt like my head was splitting right in two! I wondered what had just happened to me.
This unfortunate event happened all because of a disability that I have. Because of this
disastrous occurrence, my mom had been informed by my eye doctor that I had an
atrocious eye disease. I had been diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa.

“Retinitis Pigmentosa” (also RP for short) “refers to a group of inherited diseases

causing retinal degeneration. The cell-rich retina lines the back inside wall of the eye.
The retina is responsible for capturing images from the visual field. People with RP
experience a gradual decline in their vision because photoreceptor cells (rods and cones)
die” (http://www.blindness.org/index.php?
option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=67).

There are numerous of people around the globe who are prejudiced against the
blind. For instance, an employer may hire a person who has great eyesight, but is
unintelligent, over a blind person and who is intelligent and can perform the duties at a
decent pace. Prejudice conveys people to think that a blind person will always be barely
effective than their sighted equal, a blind person must obtain “luck” (not rights) to search
for an employer who will determine that they “will take a chance”. Almost 19% of
legally blind adults are living in poverty in America. There are mostly women residing in
the South who are non-white, unemployed, less educated, and have limited social
networks. Also, one out of every 26% blind adults lives alone because people are afraid
of being part of their lives and “taking a chance”.

“Most blind adults have work experience and many below the age of 65 are
healthy and well functioning. Most are not currently employed, however. Regardless of
age, sex, education, and income, few blind adults receive the kinds of services that could
presumably help them succeed in the work force and remain independent and productive,
such as vocational rehabilitation, occupational therapy, or visual equipment”
(http://www.center4research.org/blind0204.html).
“Prejudice, not being founded on reason, cannot be removed by argument” (Dr
Samuel Johnson).

I was at my grandma’s work place and was exploring the little storage area inside
my one of my grandmother’s colleague’s office. The small storage area was pitch black
that I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face. I stepped further along in the
storage area and stepped down on what I thought was a step and… “Crash!” My vision
was blurry and my head was throbbing so much that it almost felt like my head was
splitting right in two! I wondered what had just happened to me. I had just fallen through
the floor of the storage area and landed into the room below it shocking a woman that
was doing her work across from the office that I fell in. Amazingly, I had only a few
scrapes on my back! That was how I was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa.