Mom has a vision for the future

I'd like to thank Sophia Fischer for writing the insightful, sensitive and revealing article on Oct. 18, "Oak Park family appeals to community to save daughter's sight." It spoke to what life is like for a teenager dealing with a severe vision problem.

Jessie courageously agreed to "go public" with this and as a result, is more able and willing to handle adversity in her life with strength and pride.

Huge acknowledgements go to Linda Jacobsen, vision specialist in the district, and her assistant, Cheryl Izu.

Without their unconditional committment to Jessie's wellbeing in every sense of the word, my daughter's life at school would be difficult. With their knowledge and understanding, and the sensitive cooperation of the principals and teachers in three Oak Park schools, a teamwork approach has been created that keeps Jessie's best interests at heart.

Thanks to the Oak Park residents and businesses that joined the "Jessie's Sight Savers" team in the Foundation Fighting Blindness 5-K Visionwalk Nov. 4 at UCLA. We raised over $34,000 in donations and turned out more than 75 walkers making it one of the largest teams in Visionwalk history.

Plus, we won the group teeshirt competition thanks to the the gorgeous designs that relied on Jessie's imput and the tireless help from owners Marni Bartolomea and Anita Schuett from Fun Raising School Gear.

Your generosity has helped us spread awareness and gives us hope that we can continue to fund the extraordinary research needed to find preventions, cures and treatments for all retinal degenerative diseases.

I'm deeply grateful and proud to live in Oak Park.With your continued support, there is a cure in sight.

If you'd like to be involved in next year's walk with a sponsorship, donation and/or being part of our team, feel free to call me at (818) 469-1976. Marsha Wolinsky Oak Park