LAFAYETTE PARISH — The ability to see is a sense that can easily be taken for granted. But for one sixth grader in Lafayette Parish, clear vision could change her life. Eleven-year-old Kaidence Rogers was recently gifted life-changing vision aids that will help her in her daily life.
Kaidence has retinitis pigmentosa, or RP. According to the National Eye Institute, RP causes cells in the retina to break down over time, leading to vision loss. "You don't realize how much you take your vision for granted until you have a child that needs extra help to see," said her mother, Victoria Bihm.
Thanks to a gift from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, Kaidence now has high-tech vision aids from Sight Savers America. These aids will help her see words on a page or objects more clearly.
Bihm said the aids will be a game changer, especially for homework. "Math was extremely difficult because she's trying to look at the page and then write down. I usually have to write it for her on a whiteboard just to make it bigger, but now it won't be as time-consuming because she'll be able to just work her problems," Bihm said.
Kaidence said she's looking forward to reading more books with this new technology. "It was better. It was just bigger so I could see," Kaidence said.
August is Children's Eye Health and Safety Month, and local Blue Cross representatives said they hope to gift many more visually impaired children with tools that will help them progress.
