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Allison's Uveitis Story:

Allison was diagnosed with uveitis in 2007.  Many people ask me what uveitis is.  It is an autoimmune eye disease.  White blood cells are present in the eyes which cause inflammation.  In her case, she has anterior uveitis, also known as iritis, which is inflammation in the iris (colored part) of the eye.  When Allison first developed redness in her eye, her doctor thought it was pink eye.  When it didn't clear up, she was sent to a local opthalmologist who tried to treat her uveitis for about a month. He then referred us to Dr. Foster in Boston when it became clear that she had chronic uveitis. 

Dr. Foster is a specialist in ocular immunology.  He is world reknown for his work at the Massachusetts Eye Research and Surgery Institution.  He continues to treat patients but also devotes time to training a new generation of doctors in uveitis treatment.

Uveitis is the third leading cause of blindness.  It is often treated with steroid eye drops. These eye drops have side effects such as glaucoma.  A safer way to treat uveitis is by addressing the immune system dysfunction by using immune system altering drugs such as low dose chemotherapy or other drugs.  Dr. Foster has successfully used this approach many times. However, Allison has a resistant case which has, so far, not responded adequately to numerous different drugs.

Allison came out of remission recently. She had a six month period of no inflammation but we are now back to square one. She has inflammation in both eyes and has resumed the low dose chemotherapy to control it.  She has idiopathic uvieitis which means there is no known cause of her illness.  We are hoping that one day through research, a cause can be determined for Allison's illness and treatments can be developed to eradicate this disease once and for all.

Walk For Vision

The Walk for Vision started several years ago to support Dr. Foster's research. It is a 5k or 3.2 miles around the Charles River in Boston.  It has been very successful in raising money for uveitis research.  For more information about the walk, go to:

http://www.uveitis.org/patient/walk%20for%20vision/walk09.htm

About donating
Donating through this website is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to support my fundraising efforts.

PLEASE GIVE WHAT YOU CAN! ANY SIZE DONATION IS APPRECIATED!  We understand this is a difficult time to be asking for donations.

If you would rather not donate online, you may write a check to the Ocular Immunology and Uveitis Foundation. They ask that you put USG Walk in the memo line. 

We will be turning in all the pledges on the day of the walk.  Please mail any checks to me:

Tanya Parker

16 Hall Avenue

Greenfield, MA, 01301

If you have questions, my email is tanyamparker@gmail.com.  Phone: 413-773-9859.
 

Here's some information about MERSI:

The Ocular Immunology and Uveitis Foundation (OIUF) is a national non-profit organization, based at the Massachusetts Eye Research and Surgery Institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts at 5 Cambridge Center. OIUF is the nation's leading non-profit organization dedicated to finding the causes and cure for ocular inflammatory disease and surface diseases and is the only national organization exclusively serving individuals, families and friends affected by such disorders.

The OIUF mission is to: 1) improve the diagnosis and treatment and find the causes and cures of uveitis and other ocular inflammatory diseases as well as macular degeneration and corneal and scleral diseases, 2) increase awareness among health professionals and the public, and support individuals and families affected by the diseases. Research, education, and patient services are at the heart of OIUF’s mission and programs.

OIUF is currently conducting two research projects funded by NIH grants, 5 other grant supported research projects, and is independently supporting 11 other research projects.

More information can be found at www.uveitis.org.

Thank you for your support!!!