If you were only able to see some shadows would you even try to climb Mount Kilimanjaro? A lack of sight isn’t keeping the Phoenix VA Health Care Systems Vision Impairment Services Team (VIST) member Tom Hicks from doing just that.
In June Hicks will be amongst a team of about a dozen blind hikers who will climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Day by day now, he prepares for this journey by doing hikes in Phoenix with his team members. He also continues with his martial arts and he recently finished a walk for the Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB) called Vision Walk.
Vision Walk was started about three years ago to help raise awareness and funding for FFB. So together with VA Public Affairs Officer Paula Pedene they created a local team called “Veterans and Friends for Vision”.
“The Veterans I serve at the Phoenix VA Health Care System inspire me,” says Hicks. “Every week another newly blinded Veteran is referred to me. The onset of blindness in all cases is devastating to our Veterans and the VA VIST Program offers leadership, hope, and inspiration.”
Both Pedene and Hicks suffer from Retinitis Pigmentosa, a disease that causes blindness by eating away at the healthy photo receptor and other cells in the eyes. Hicks has the recessive form of the disease, which skips generations but causes vision loss at an earlier age. Pedene has the dominant form of RP which affects 50% of those who carry the gene and complete loss of sight is usually later in life. At the age of 35 Pedene gave up driving and other sporting activities when the VA therapists told her how little vision she had.
“That day that I learned I would need to give up driving, I should walk with a cane, I should have special lighting and special aids was a hard one for me,” she says. “I cried all day. But like the majority of us facing vision loss, you go through the down times and you learn how to adapt. I still miss driving and many sports, but VA was there for me then and still is there today. I adore having people like Tom to help me when I need it,” she added.
“My job is to help our blind and visually impaired Veterans with this new adjustment and motivate them to participate in blind rehab so they can learn the necessary skills to improve personal safety, independence, and overall quality of life. Blindness is the enemy and I hate the enemy. I can teach our Veterans how to live with it,” said Hicks.
Both Pedene and Hicks created the Vision Walk team to help FFB. Says Hicks,” I'd rather be a part of the cure for both RP and Macular Degeneration. An overwhelming majority of the Veterans I serve have Macular Degeneration and nothing would make me happier than to cure this and all other diseases that robs our Veterans of their "Golden Years."Bottom line, I walk because it's the right thing to do and it is the very least thing I can do for our Veterans.”
Pedene says, “Getting a team together to help ourselves and others is truly important. FFB is exploring many avenues for cures and those are all costly. The Vision Walk is a fun way to get together with my fellow veterans like Tom, my family, his family and other veterans to unite in a common goal. We both agree we have to keep our spirits high and maintain hope. Our team Veterans and Friends for Vision does just that.”
The Veterans and Friends team earned $2200 for this year’s walk, about $500 more than last year. Their largest donor was Tri West Health Care Alliance.
Now Hicks can focus on his next goal: climbing the 19,340-foot-high Mount Kilimanjaro in June. At 42 Hicks is the oldest member of the team.
Hicks is on the team with the Foundation for Blind Children from Phoenix. Their team consists of eight blind hikers and 18 sighted guides. The team plans to leave Arizona on June 20 and arrive at Kilimanjaro’s base on June 23. Their climb will last seven days and they plan to reach the summit on June 30.
You can learn more about the Vision Walk at www.visionwalk.org.
You can learn more about the Kilimanjaro hike at http://www.seekiliourway.org/.
