HOW RP CHANGED MY LIFE - FOR THE BETTER

I was diagnosed unexpectedly with Retinitis Pigmentosa at age 34, three days before Christmas of 1998. I had gone to the optometrist thinking I needed mild glasses for night driving, and instead walked out with the shocking diagnosis of sporadic RP.

I spent the next two years hanging onto a very bad second marriage, thinking I had to because who else would take care of me when I went legally blind? I hated my job, hated my boss, and hated my home life. One day I decided that if I'm going to go blind, I was going to learn how to play classical guitar while I still had the vision to learn how to read music. I began studying under a teacher who was classical guitar instructor at a neighboring university - and within three months, I auditioned for and won a four-year full-ride scholarship to their music school. The move was scary - still in the "who's going to take care of me?" mode - but I took the chance, divorced, and entered the wonderful world of college at age 36.

I ultimately changed majors to mass communications, dual emphasizing in advertising and public relations. My ultimate goal is to one day be a strong voice for public awareness and support for an important social cause. On top of attending classes, I coordinate workshops for our nontraditional (adult) students on relevant issues (money, relationships, time, study skills), to keep them encouraged to fight their daily battles and stay in school. My work and studies have brought me awards and commendations, and my guitar led me to co-founding the Colorado Springs Classical Guitar Ensemble in 2000. My new world (and the people and activities in it) is everything I always longed for for myself - and I can assure you that none of this would have happened had the RP diagnosis never occurred.

My encouragement to everyone is this: seize the opportunity of RP to dare to dream - to begin doing all of the things you've have always wished for. If that dream includes college, know that scholarships and grants ABOUND for adults, for women, for people with disabilities, and for those with exceptional talents or skills. Just call your local university, who will be glad to run interest and aptitude tests on you, and get the ball rolling in a great direction!

My visual field is probably still at about 100-110 degrees, and the last doctor I saw said that while my left eye will probably continue to deteriorate, my right eye looks good and I should have "many years of usable vision left." So if you're newly diagnosed, don't fear the worst. Just seize the day, and know that there could be an even better life ahead of you.