Determined to See

Chemically Induced Retinal Cells Offer Vision Restoration Hope for RP

I’ve been in hiatus for a couple of years because—between breast cancer and a sudden, dramatic drop in vision that now hovers around light perception—I felt like I had been smashed in the face with a two-by-four. But like all of you who are determined to see your family’s faces and the world around you, I’ve […]

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How to Pull Yourself Up When Life Throws You Down

This vision loss thing has knocked me down hard plenty of times over the past year. And I know I’m not alone when it comes to the pain of this and other knock-out blows that life occasionally delivers. The only real question is how to get back on our feet once we regain consciousness and […]

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It Starts With Self-Love

I’ve been mean to myself before. But I didn’t realize just how self-bullying, belittling and cruel I could be until my eyesight took a nose-dive last year. Suddenly I could no longer see my family’s faces or the world around me. And I hated myself for it. I have always been an optimist and a […]

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Two Years Into My Eyesight Saving Quest: What I’ve Learned

I’m writing this from a ski resort in Northern Idaho—the same ski resort where I hit rock bottom two years ago and decided to do everything in my power to save my eyesight. I started this quest hoping that if I fought hard enough, I could regain my eyesight and get back to a normal-sighted […]

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Taking Today to Celebrate

 In some ways, this post doesn’t have much to do with my eyesight-healing quest. But I think that every once in a while, we need to just stop and enjoy life and CELEBRATE the victories. And today is a big day for me. Penguin is releasing my memoir, Hippie Boy—which I first self-published two years […]

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Orange Algae, TUDCA & Food Allergy Testing Update

After an amazing two and a half weeks in Italy, France and Switzerland, I’m back in Seattle and have resumed my RP healing program full force. I kicked it off by firing up my juicer and getting back into my morning routine that starts with a large glass of distilled water, followed by an equally […]

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I Want My Eyesight

I’ve been in Italy for the past week—part of a dream vacation my husband and I have been planning with our two daughters for years. And in case I needed a reminder of just how critical eyesight is, this trip has been it. Whether it’s navigating crowds, catching trains, climbing stairs or playing cards with […]

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Treating Retinitis Pigmentosa with TUDCA

I first read about TUDCA (Tauroursodeoxycholic Acid) three years ago and was so excited about it’s potential to preserve photoreceptor cells in people with RP that I immediately made an appointment with a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner and asked if I could buy it from her. I figured that since TUDCA is a synthetic form […]

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Strengthening My Chi to Heal My Eyesight

I had a meltdown in Dr. Yu’s office last week. I was exhausted and stressed trying to meet a production deadline for the teen writing and publishing program I’m involved with—so much so that I lost focus of the real purpose of the program and the joy that comes with it. The minute I took […]

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Partnering With a Friend to Fight Retinitis Pigmentosa

My husband and daughters have always been a great support system and recently joined me in my get-healthy quest—which includes daily green juicing, reducing processed foods and eating lots of fresh fruits, vegetables and fish.  My daughter, Syd, has even teamed with me on a new daily cardio and strength training routine so I can […]

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