Any optometrist could see the early signs of macular degeneration, a disease that eventually causes blindness. Dark spots would appear on an image of the eye.
But 30 years ago, optometrist Dr. Donna Mockler wouldn't tell her patients if she saw this type of image, for there was no treatment.
"There was nothing I could offer them, I couldn't offer a lot of hope," she said at her Richmond clinic on Westminster Highway.
"When people would hear that, all they would think was blindness and would become depressed."
Due to advances in vision research, diseases like macular degeneration's progress can be slowed and treated, and there's also more education in prevention.
One of the leading funding bodies for vision research in Canada is Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB) and it comes to Richmond with its annual fundraiser Comic Vision next Thursday, May 2 at River Rock Casino Resort.
The event features three stand-up comedians and provides the opportunity for people to meet researchers and participate in silent auctions.
One in nine Canadians still suffer from irreversible vision loss, and more than 1 million suffer from macular degeneration - a number that is only increasing with the aging population.
"I've witnessed first-hand the devastating effects of vision loss in my patients," said Mockler, who is on the organizing committee for Comic Vision. "A person loses their sense of independence, their mobility and their enjoyment of life."
With a charitable organization like FFB, funding is more likely to be provided for small and innovative research bodies, according to Mockler. These organizations tend not to have a bias that pharmaceutical companies may have, and are willing to take more risks than larger funding companies.
The result has been funds provided for several innovative university research projects such as stem cell research, retinal implants and drug treatments.
"Seeing the research gives us hope, and we're empowered by that hope," said Mockler. "Comic Vision allows us to come together and celebrate this newfound empowerment."
