Return to Main Menu

Summerville youth benefits from vision device, sees potential by Cindy Abole Public Relations Nine-year-old Jamie Bailey struggled to read her second-grade textbook. Now, thanks to a generous donation by the Charleston Lions Club, she gushes with pride as she sees letters that were once fuzzy focus into sharp words and pictures. Jamie Bailey, 9, reads with help from the Rainbow CCTV system. She is joined by SEI's Dr. Stephen Morse and Charleston Lions Club's Max Kirshstein. The help came in the form of a donation from the club to Jamie on July 12 following a meeting between mother and daughter and the chairman of the charitable giving committee of the  Charleston Lions Club. “It was an easy decision for us,” said Max Kirshstein, who is also a Lions Club past president. “We’re glad that we can do something helpful for Jamie and others in the community regarding their eyesight.” When Jamie was 6, she suffered from optic atrophy, caused by a medulloblastoma that was excised in Dec. 1999. The surgery was followed by chemotherapy and radiation. Today, Jaime is in remission but is considered legally blind in both eyes.  A third-grader at Knightsville Elementary School in Summerville, Jamie has attended regular class and participated in resource room activities twice a day. Her school has provided her with specific training—orientation and mobility, speech training and rehab training using visual aids including a closed-circuit television system (CCTV). The system allows her to view text and images focusing on brightness and contrast from a textbook, magazine, cards or photos. For example, an individual can improve his/her skills by reading white text against a dark background because it reduces glare and helps the letters stand out.  As time progressed, Jamie’s mother, Teresa, realized the need for having a CCTV at home to help Jamie with her assignments. But the cost of a Telesen-sory Rainbow CCTV system is not covered by Medicare and was too much an out-of-pocket expense. Her low vision doctor, Stephen Morse, O.D., Ph.D., associate professor of ophthalmology, director of the Feldberg Center for Vision Rehabilitation, prescribed the device. Jamie’s story and plea for support was soon heard by the Charleston Lions Club.  “Jamie is a bright young lady, so we want to make sure she has every chance to reach her potential,” Morse said. “Learning through vision becomes progressively more important the further one goes in school. So the sooner we can teach her that she can rely on devices to help her see, the better her chances are to keep up in school. Now, thanks to the Lions Club, Jamie will have the chance that she deserves.” Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.