Our numbers will wield economic power
by uniting the millions of people
who are affected by macular degeneration.
Please join us as we work for a brighter tomorrow.

Dear Friends:

I know the shock of being told that I might go blind from a disease I'd never heard of. I know the dismay of being told there is little, if anything, that can be done. I understand the fear of being told that laser surgery (the most common surgical procedure available to treat "wet" macular degeneration) might also cause blind spots.

In 1993, soon after my 39th birthday, I was diagnosed with macular degeneration. I was frightened. Soon I became angry.

Why was it, I wondered, that I'd learned about glaucoma and cataracts in school and from the various media but, even with a three-year post-graduate degree, I had never heard of macular degeneration?

I now know that macular degeneration affects central vision and is the leading cause of blindness in people older than 55 in the western world; in the U.S. alone it affects 10 million people.

The American Macular Degeneration Foundation was created to work for the prevention, treatment, and cure of macular degeneration through raising funds, educating the public and supporting scientific research. We can achieve this mission by uniting.

The force of our numbers will wield enormous economic power by uniting the millions of people who are affected, either directly or indirectly, by macular degeneration.

In addition to our own research dollars, we must urge the state and federal governments to turn their attention and our dollars toward our mysterious affliction. Congress needs to fund more research and require responsible action from universities, pharmaceutical corporations, and medical research institutions.

Insurers of medical and health care, public and private, must fund the care we all seek and need. At this time, Medicare will not pay the cost of optical devices that can be of help to some patients. Many HMOs will not fund basic diagnostic procedures. Some private insurers will not pay for specialized diagnosis and monitoring of macular degeneration for the paradoxical reason that no cure presently exists!

Our family physicians can be provided with the information needed to help their patients understand the disease, protect themselves, and seek skilled help. Specialists can be given the tools to communicate plainly with frightened patients about the nature of their malady, what they can reasonably expect, and what avenues are being opened for meaningful help.

Together, we will be able to inform decision-makers in the private and public sectors of the desperate need for health care support for the many millions of us with the disease and the family members who want so much to help their loved ones.

A modest contribution, even $25.00 ($45.00 Foreign) (which entitles you to receive four issues of the AMDF Quarterly Newsletter), enables the American Macular Degeneration Foundation to achieve its education and research goals.

The work has begun. Our united efforts will help alleviate the pain of our fear and frustration, and make our desperate need for information more widely known and usefully available to our doctors, families, and friends. It is our fervent hope to conquer this disease for the sake of ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren. With your support, we can ensure our vision of a brighter tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Chip Goehring, President
Board of Trustees, AMDF