VisionWalk supports the Foundation Fighting Blindness

Photo by Danny Fulgencio

Thomas Martinelli comes bounding through the house like a pre-k hurricane, no different than any kid his age. But at school, the 4-year-old is learning to read Braille and walk with a cane. He is preparing for blindness. Thomas’s parents, Kim and Brent Martinelli, learned their son has Retinitis Pigmentosa when he was 19 months old. The disorder causes gradual tunnel vision and eventual blindness in severe cases. Doctors experimenting with stem cells, culled from the patient’s own skin, are close to finding a cure, says Kim Martinelli, who is chair of the Dallas VisionWalk. “We believe one of two things will happen,” she says. “Either Thomas will never go blind because we’re finding a cure, or he will benefit in his lifetime because of genetic research. That carrot is right there.” The Martinellis are raising money through “Team Thomas” for this month’s fifth-annual VisionWalk, supporting the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Their goal is to raise $5,000. The walk is a 5k, and festivities include a bounce house, face painting and food. Attendees can try on glasses that simulate how the world looks from the perspective of someone with a retinal degenerative disorder. Thomas was diagnosed very young through screenings when he was a baby. Most people don’t show symptoms of the disorder until they’re teenagers. In a way, the Martinellis see that as a positive. “We really are lucky that he’s so young because he doesn’t know any different,” Kim Martinelli says. “He laughs and smiles his whole way through every trip and bump and bruise.” In the daytime, Thomas’s vision seems normal, but tunnel vision causes him to trip a lot. He is totally blind in the dark, and his eyes take a few minutes to adjust from dark to light. So the Martinellis are used to living with every light in the house on all the time. Even though Thomas has a terrific personality, Martinelli says it can be gut wrenching to think of her child going blind. “You would trade in a heart beat so they wouldn’t have to go through that,” she says.

Sign up for our newsletter!

* indicates required

VisionWalk Saturday, May 19, 10 a.m., White Rock Lake Winfrey Point, fightblindness.org/dallasvisionwalk