Foundation Fighting Blindness

Spotlight on Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) 👁️‍🗨️

When changes in your eyes are unpredictable, how do you keep moving forward?

For Debby Erney, living with Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) means adapting to symptoms that can change over time.

In this Coffee Conversation, host Adam Chodak, evening anchor at WROC News 8 who lives with Stargardt disease, sits down with Debby to discuss the realities of how changes in vision can affect everyday life. Together, they talk about Debby’s experience with blurred vision, light sensitivity and symptoms that can shift unexpectedly.

Watch the full conversation to hear Debby share more about her experience living with TED: FightingBlindness.org/living-with-th…

This Coffee Conversation is brought to you in partnership with Amgen.

Video Description: Adam and Debby discuss navigating their experiences of living with vision loss over Zoom.

Spotlight on Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) 👁️‍🗨️

For Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) Awareness Week, we’re shining a light on TED, an autoimmune condition that affects the tissues around the eyes and can worsen over time. TED can cause symptoms such as eye bulging (proptosis), double vision (diplopia), redness, swelling, and eye pain or pressure.

No two experiences with TED are exactly alike. Symptoms can range from mild to severe, making awareness of this condition and its signs especially important so people can recognize changes in their eyes or vision, and seek appropriate care.

Learn more about TED at: FightingBlindness.org/diseases/thyro…

This Spotlight on TED Week is brought to you in partnership with Amgen.

Image Description: Dark blue background with the Foundation Fighting Blindness and “Spotlight on Thyroid Eye Disease” logos in the top left corner. Text below reads, “Inflammation from Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) can cause a number of eye symptoms, including redness, eye bulging, double vision, dry or gritty eyes, light sensitivity, eye pain, eyelid swelling, and watery eyes.” Below the text reads, “In partnership with,” followed by the Amgen logo.

In recognition of Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) Awareness Week, November 9–15, we’re shining a spotlight on TED—starting with Riela “Lala” Popp.

Ballroom dancing gave Lala confidence and a place where she felt most like herself, but her TED symptoms eventually forced her to step away from the dance floor.

When an unexpected encounter at work led to a doctor noticing her eyes and asking whether she was taking care of them, Lala realized just how serious her symptoms had become. That unexpected moment lit a fire under her to seek treatment and find her way back to the dance she loves.

Read and watch Lala’s Beacon Story at: bit.ly/3WzE0SC

This Spotlight on TED Awareness Week is brought to you in partnership with Amgen.

Video Description: Clips of Lala ballroom dancing, walking, and traveling throughout New York City, with intermittent clips of her seated and speaking directly to the camera.

Do you know a researcher whose work has left a lasting impact on retinal degenerative disease research?

Nominations are still open for the Llura Liggett Gund Award, the highest honor presented by the Foundation Fighting Blindness. The award recognizes individuals whose careers have advanced discovery, accelerated therapeutic development, and driven progress toward treatments and cures for retinal degenerative diseases.

Submit a nomination by November 19.

bit.ly/4zmKmmP

This week on Eye on the Cure, Dr. Steven Johnston, co-founder of A Race Against Blindness, shares how his son’s diagnosis with Bardet-Biedl syndrome, a rare genetic condition that causes progressive vision loss, inspired him to turn a personal journey into a mission to advance research.

Learn how A Race Against Blindness is partnering with the Foundation Fighting Blindness and using unique fundraising initiatives, including luxury car giveaways, to help fund research into potential treatments for inherited retinal diseases.

Listen to the latest episode: bit.ly/4sGP8cc