CCMS Medicine Fall 2017 - 25

www.CHESTERCMS.org

Also instrumental in Joe's success was Dr. Jawad Basil of
Thorndale. Through implementing an inclusive diet and exercise
regimen, along with constant physical rehabilitation, he was able to
assist Joe through his entire recovery. Though currently wheelchair
dependent, Joe shared that he can now walk 60 to 100 feet each
day with the aid of a walker.
This, combined with the occupational therapy that
VisionCorps provides, has afforded Joe new opportunities. He now
works several days a week at Handicrafters and loves discussing
politics with his father. Today, Joe wants to move forward with
learning Braille and hopes that one day, he will be able to draft his
memoirs to inspire others.
Along with his strong religious faith, Joe credits his recovery to
the support of his mother, father, and sisters, Juliet and Cassie.

A Connection Made
While attending VisionCorps'
support group, Joe met another
VisionCorps' client, Millad.
As a teenager, Millad was
diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa,
which would eventually progress
into blindness. As of four years ago,
Millad is now completely blind.
Millad reached out to
VisionCorps and embraced its
services. Orientation and mobility
was his greatest initial challenge, but
after working on white cane instruction and navigation in personal
surroundings, Millad now accesses public transportation with ease.
He graduated from West Chester University and is now pursuing
his Master's Degree in Public Health Administration, all with
the goal of assisting other individuals who are blind or visually
impaired, professionally. Beyond rehabilitation services provided
by VisionCorps, Millad also received a $6,000 scholarship from
VisionCorps Foundation to assist with his tuition.
Dr. Leonard Ginsberg, Millad's ophthalmologist, was amazed
with the teen's personal progress through his vision loss and
remains impressed with the assistance VisionCorps continues to
provide Millad.
VisionCorps was also instrumental in connecting Millad
to a dog guide organization. Empowered, he went on to find
employment with the assistance of a social worker and now
is currently involved as an intern with Health Fit Camp, a
Manhattanville College program that helps visually impaired youth
prepare for college. Millad praises VisionCorps for counseling

and mentoring, which has provided him with the energy,
independence, and drive to succeed with his vision loss. Those
attributes will allow Millad to give back to others facing vision loss.
In fact, Millad will intern with Dr. Ginsburg's practice in the
near future.

A History of Attaining Independence
Since 1926, VisionCorps has served residents who are visually
impaired through its mission of empowering individuals with
vision loss to attain independence. VisionCorps serves residents
of Adams, Chester, Lancaster, Lebanon, and York Counties,
providing proactive vision screening of all ages (in particular,
preschool children during their important developmental age).
VisionCorps provides Camp Cool and other activities for children
and teenagers who are blind or
vision impaired in South Central
Pennsylvania. Services are provided
individually and upon a physician
referral.
VisionCorps maintains a shared
goal of collaboration with the
medical community to assure that
individuals experiencing vision
loss maintain independence and
autonomy. The organization seeks
to work closely with the Chester
County Medical Society to assure
that no one lacks assistance,
education, or support relative to their diagnosis. VisionCorps'
shared ambition is a medical community working closely to assist
patients through family practices and primary care providers, as
well as ophthalmology and optical practices, by referring patients
directly to its team of licensed social workers and occupational
therapists to provide seamless care when vision loss is diagnosed.
VisionCorps offers a wide array of services to individuals
with vision loss. Its team provides comprehensive rehabilitation
programming to more than 4,000 individuals each year. Services
include instruction in activities of daily living and support groups,
as well as safe and independent travel instruction, to enable
individuals to live independently and maintain quality of life.
If you or your practice would like more information,
please visit www.VisionCorps.net or contact Mary Sue
Boyle, our Chester County Community Outreach and
Services Liaison, at mboyle@VisionCorps.net.

FA L L 2 0 1 7 | C H E S T E R C O U N T Y M e d i c i n e 2 5
http://www.chestercms.org http://www.VisionCorps.net
CCMS Medicine Fall 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CCMS Medicine Fall 2017
