Most high school seniors bite their nails over finals and college plans, eagerly anticipating the next chapters of their lives and celebrating with their friends. When she was a senior in high school, all Rachel Cook could focus on was the mystery of her deteriorating vision. The days following her graduation were filled with doctors and concern.
Now, seven years later, Cook is finally on track to getting her sight back. With the help of a fundraiser and the support of her family and friends, Cook will be receiving treatment for her condition this September.
The condition is called Stargardt Macular Degeneration—also termed juvenile macular degeneration. The affliction causes progressive loss of vision, eventually leading to total loss of vision. While there is no known cure, specialists are continually researching and finding methods to treat the disease.
Cook underwent numerous visits and referrals before doctors pinpointed her diagnosis.
“I would go from doctor to doctor, and they all just kept saying things like, ‘You’re a mystery!’” Cook said. “I spent years going to different doctors.”
A high-profile doctor in Chicago was the one to deliver her diagnosis; even then, it took a year of testing before he came to his conclusion.
“When he called to give me the diagnosis, I was like, ‘OK, so what do I do from here?’” Cook said. “And he’s like, ‘Oh, well, you just need to wear sunglasses.’ And I’m like, ‘…Really?’ I waited a year to hear that I needed to wear sunglasses.”
With such underwhelming orders, Cook fell into a slump.
“I just gave up,” Cook admitted. “I thought, you know what? I’m just not going to do anything. No doctor can help me, they won’t refer me to anyone else. So I’m not going to do anything.”
Cook tried to apply to school, but felt defeated by her continually-fading vision.
“Reading is out of the question,” Cook said. “I skip lines when I read, I write diagonal. Anything I want to do, my license would be on the line.”
Cook was discouraged from trying to go back to school altogether after a conversation about filing for disability. Beyond that, her vision began corrupting her everyday life.
“Now I don’t recognize people’s faces,” she said. “I can see their figures, if I’m talking to you, I have to be almost kissing you to see your face. There are some times—it depends on what kind of lighting it is—where I could see some of your face, but I can’t read lips or make out features."
When things began feeling bleaker than ever, a friend helped turn them around. Cook works for a nutrition club, and it was through there that 'Radiant Vision for Rachel' began.
“A woman that comes into my workplace first put together this page for my fundraiser,” Cook said. “She said, ‘I hope you don’t mind, but I really want to do this for you.’”
'Radiant Vision for Rachel' has been a success. Cook’s mother had been researching a doctor in Turkey for more than a year. Compared to other procedures, this doctor’s procedure prevents continuing degeneration and normalizes the eyes as much as possible.
Two months ago, the miraculous connection between doctor and patient occurred. Cook will be flying to Turkey on September 6 to receive treatment.
“It’s just crazy how everything has fallen into place,” Cook said. “It made me realize there’s a reason for all of this. It could not have been better timing.”
Despite it’s trials, Cook’s journey has illuminated so many things for her; namely, her strength and her ability to value the little pieces of life that others take for granted every day.
“I feel like I’ve learned to appreciate more in my life because of what I’ve gone through,” Cook said. "I feel like people take the smallest things for granted and are more worried about material things. It does bother me, sometimes, because someone will complain about something they don’t have, and I feel like saying, ‘Well, you’ve got eyes that can see, and your vision can take you a lot of places.’”
Should the treatment be a success, Cook looks forward to finding a new career trajectory, expressing interest in the medical field.
“I feel like [restoring my vision] is going to help me find myself, too,” she said. “I don’t really know me, because I’m always stressing out about the fact that I can’t see.”
Cook’s future is bright, but the immediate future will be the sweetest.
“When family members come walking in the door, I don’t notice them,” Cook said. “I think that would be really amazing to be able to see my own family members walking through the door again.”
Donate to Radiant Vision for Rachel here:
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