Photo above by Debora Schultz
Meet Bill Carty
Bill Carty is my uncle on my mother's side. He is one of four children, born to my grandmother, all of whom have Retinitis Pigmentosa. Born in 1956, not much was known about degenerative eye diseases, yet Bill would become fundamental in helping with research. He is at least the 5th generation that has had RP in our family, with the earlier generations not knowing exactly why there was blindness in the family, just that it was there.
Bill was born in Vermont, moved to Baldwinsville, NY at age 4, and then to Florida in 1967. By this time, his mother, Lillian, was starting to show signs of having the same vison issues as reported by her mother. Shortly after moving to the East Florida Coast, Bill got into surfing and spent many days out on the ocean. He graduated from college with a degree in Accounting and Business, working for several companies but eventually ending up at Northrup Grumman.
Prior to working at this company, Bill started having vision issues. He began working with Dr. Jacobson, who was involved with the Foundation Fighting Blindness research for degenerative eye diseases. He ended up losing his driver's license by his mid-thirties. At first, he didn't use any aids to help him get around, but after attending a Foundation Fighting Blindness conference, he found that he needed to get a White Cane for the Blind, and eventually, a Guide Dog. He started participating in research by providing Dr. Jacobson with blood samples from all of our family on his mother's side, and went for many testing sessions on his visual field, including adjusting from light to darkness, blurred vision spots, and the extent of his disease progression.
Bill's job duties at Northrup Grumman, included managing many accounts where he was required to travel to check in on and assist the personnel. He started traveling with his White Cane, but NG eventually gave him the four weeks required to attend guide dog training from Leader Dogs for the Blind. He went to Michigan and received his training, along with his first guide dog, Brutus. They were a team for about 10 years, before Brutus retired, receiving his own party and award from NG. Bill continues working with guide dogs, and is currently on his fourth partner.
In all of his free time, Bill has also served on several boards related to vision issues including the Board of Trustees for the Foundation Fighting Blindness, and Leader Dogs for the Blind. He has helped many organizations become better at serving the blind community, and helped individuals, such as me, understand and come to terms with this disease. He helped me know what was happening, why it was happening, and how to use the technology or assistance that was available. I personally owe him a great deal as his positive attitude toward living a normal life despite having this impairment has kept me, and many of us, pursuing a cure for these diseases. He taught me the fundamentals of using a white cane, even before having official training myself, and has given me tons of information about having, owning and training a guide dog. I will be forever grateful to him for his encouragement and support through my own journey of losing my vision.