Out of Sight - Dining in the Dark

Mark Huyser-Wierenga started to realize his vision was impaired in his early teens. "I couldn't see well at night like my contemporaries," said Huyser-Wierenga, a well-known crown prosecutor in Edmonton. "Running around Hawrelak Park, playing kick the can; other people could see me but I couldn't see them." That's when he got the devastating news that he had a rare genetic disorder called choroideremia. He has lost his peripheral vision and will eventually completely lose his sight. Huyser-Wierenga wants so much for young people to not have to go through this. That's why he has stepped in to help University of Alberta ophthalmology researchers fundraise for their own research. "They need money to fund their work and we need people in the community to step forward and support that," said Huyser-Wierenga. "We have a terrific group of researchers here at the U of A who are highly qualified and have the desire to push the research forward to achieve treatments, cures and therapies for a broad spectrum of eye-related difficulties." Huyser-Wierenga has teamed up with Ian MacDonald, chair and professor in the Department of Ophthalmology, to put on a fundraising dinner called Out of Sight, scheduled for March 20. The idea is a dining in the dark experience: Guests have the option to experience full vision loss by wearing a blindfold, or partial vision loss by wearing sunglasses in a dimmed ballroom. "People get a sense of what vision loss and blindness is like, but in an atmosphere that is fun and supporting a great cause," said Huyser-Wierenga. The hope is also that the guests will enjoy their food more by letting their other senses take over. "We're at the stage where there is going to be some significant changes available so that ophthalmologists aren't going to be saying 'you have a blinding condition and there's nothing we can do,'" said Huyser-Wierenga. "They're going to be able say we're going to do something for you' so that's a huge thrill for me," said Huyser-Wierenga.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Mark
• Huyser-Wierenga
• Dr.
• Ian
• MacDonald
• choroideremia
• opthomology
• Edmonton