When people see Samantha Kramer’s friends leading her by the arm down Frat Row on Thursdays nights, they assume she is drunk.
However the reality is quite different.
Kramer, a second-year sociology student, suffers from an eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa, and her friends help her walk because she has trouble seeing at night.
“When I go out, (my friends) are my eyes,” Kramer said.
For a long time, Kramer thought the genetic disease was beyond her control. The disease affects Kramer’s peripheral vision, leaving her with blind spots and making it difficult to get around even during the day.
Retinitis pigmentosa is an eye disease that causes damage to the retina, according to Medline Plus. The disease mainly affects the cells that control night vision and can run in families, like it does in Kramer’s.
In 2007, Kramer and her family participated in the first annual Los Angeles VisionWalk, held at UCLA. The five-kilometer walk is designed to raise funds to find cures for retinal degenerative diseases like retinitis pigmentosa. By participating in the walk, Kramer found a way to fight the disease.
“We got involved as a family, and it was really cool to be part of finding a cure and working towards progress for something that affects us so personally,” Kramer said.
The fourth annual VisionWalk will be held at UCLA on Sunday and will be sponsored by the Foundation Fighting Blindness, which funds blindness-related research. More than 700 people are expected to join in the five-kilometer trek around campus, said Alayna Tatum, director of events for the Foundation Fighting Blindness.
“Especially since the event is back on campus, we want to raise more awareness,” Kramer said. “I just wanted to get more campus involvement for an event that’s actually being held right here.”
This will be Kramer’s fourth time participating in the event. This year, Kramer started team BruinVision, which has 18 registered walkers and has raised$520.
“It’s fun seeing all the involvement and how it’s grown among our friends,” said Alexandra Rudolf-Dib, a second-year English and French student and team member. “It’s good to see how many people are willing to wake up early on a Sunday and come support a cause that means a lot to Sam (Kramer) and other people affected by this.”
Last year, VisionWalk raised $90,000, and this year the foundation hopes to raise $125,000, according to Tatum. Since its inception in 2006, the walk, which takes place in 55 different cities, has raised more than $13 million.
Among other research, the foundation is funding gene therapy studies that have restored some vision to 20 young adults and children who suffered from a condition called Leber congenital amaurosis, a rare hereditary eye disease.
These results give Kramer optimism for the future.
“I really hope for something that will stabilize or leave the vision I have intact, or to go further and restore the vision I’ve lost. There are great possibilities.”