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Blind San Juan College student raises funds for high-tech glasses [The Daily Times, Farmington, N.M.](Daily Times (Farmington, NM) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 02--AZTEC -- When she was six months old, LeAnna Abeyta's father noticed his infant daughter wasn't able to follow the rattle he was waving in front of her. After doctors examined her, Abeyta was diagnosed with Leber's congenital amaurosis, a rare eye disease that affects 1 in 80,000 people worldwide. "They found I could see some, but it wasn't until I was 15 that it nose-dived, and I lost it all," Abeyta said. "By the time I was 18, it was gone. Just in the past two years, somehow I regained some of it back. I was happy." Today, the 22-year-old Aztec resident is a music education student at San Juan College and works in the Disabilities Services Center at the college. She hopes to raise $15,000 to pay for computerized glasses that could enable her to see and increase her independence and mobility. The glasses are not covered by insurance. A Canadian company, eSight Corp., launched the product a year ago and has about 130 users of the device. Abeyta is hopeful she'll be the company's next client. On Saturday, she is hosting a fundraiser at her dad's bar, the Sidekick Lounge, in Ignacio, Colo., that will offer a full day and evening of food, live music and a raffle. Abeyta, who is an aspiring singer-songwriter and can play 19 instruments, will perform at the event on the piano with her dad on the guitar. She also has set up a fundraising website to help her raise the money necessary to purchase the electronic glasses. "I didn't really have a lot of friends when I was younger," Abeyta said. "Kids stole my cane, took stuff and hid it. I spent a lot of time in practice rooms, playing and signing. It's what I love to do." The glasses, which look like futuristic ski goggles, run computer software that configures images using a high-definition camera. The camera processes and magnifies images that are then fed into two LED screens in front of the user's eyes. "Quite honestly, eSight is the best way to go without messing with my eyes, and it's also the cheapest way to go," said Abeyta, who gets around now with the help of her guide dog, a labrador named Velour. "It's the price of a car, but these are like a car. When you put them on, you're able to see and get around. That's what I want." The Food and Drug Administration has approved the glasses, but a clinical study on them isn't due to be completed until the end of the year, said eSight's spokesman Taylor West. "What's really incredible about LeAnna is that the goal isn't just for herself," West said by phone on Wednesday. "LeAnna wants to raise the funds to help other people with low vision get the life-changing technology." While she's hoping to top the $15,000 needed for the glasses on Saturday, Abeyta said she will continue to speak about her experience being legally blind and what the glasses will do to increase her vision, independence and confidence. Most of all, she wants to become a music teacher and is hoping the glasses will make that dream possible. On Monday, Abeyta will travel with her dad to Dallas, Texas, to try on a pair of the high-tech glasses at eSight's offices there. "I have no doubts that the eyeglasses are going to work," she said. James Fenton covers Aztec and Bloomfield for The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4621 and [email protected]. Follow him @fentondt on Twitter. ___ (c)2014 The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.) Visit The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.) at www.daily-times.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |