A Daughter’s Hope for Her Mom

For Maggie Laughlin, retinitis pigmentosa (RP) has always been more than a diagnosis. It is something she has watched her mom navigate for much of her life—and something that has shaped the way Maggie understands vision loss, community, and the importance of simply giving people grace.

Maggie grew up in a small town in Virginia, where resources for people affected by RP were limited. She was around 12 or 13 when she and her family began noticing changes in her mom’s vision.

At first, it was small things. Her mom was having trouble driving at night. Then Maggie began noticing changes in other parts of her life. Her mom was an active person and even served as Maggie’s cheer coach, but she was beginning to have difficulty navigating her surroundings.

“It’s hard to describe really what that feeling is, to see someone you love so much and that you see as such a strong figure in your life struggle with something that no one has an instant fix for,” says Maggie.

As Maggie grew older, she also began to understand how easily vision loss can be misunderstood by people who don't know what someone is experiencing.

One moment in particular has stayed with her.

“It was a Christmas party that I was at with one of my best friends in high school, and my parents were invited, and we’re all hanging out,” recalls Maggie. “My mom’s kind of navigating around by herself to the best of her ability. And someone came up and whispered to my friend’s mom and said, ‘She’s got to be really drunk. Something’s going on. She must be drunk.’”

Maggie knew that wasn’t true. She knew her mom was simply trying to navigate a space that had become increasingly difficult to see.

“The feeling that I got in my chest as someone who knows that that is not the case, but that she’s trying her best, you can’t put words on it,” says Maggie.

The experience reinforced something Maggie had already begun to understand: vision loss isn’t always visible.

“That’s why I think that education is so important around these topics because just because someone is struggling doesn’t mean it’s visible to you,” says Maggie. “But we’ve got to give people grace because you don’t know what someone is going through.”

For Maggie, that understanding has extended beyond her own family. She knows firsthand how isolating it can be when there aren’t many resources nearby or when the people around you don’t understand what you’re experiencing.

Her mom still lives in rural Virginia, where accessing specialized resources can mean traveling to Richmond or Washington, D.C. That distance can make it even more difficult to find information and connect with others affected by RP.

That’s part of what made Maggie’s experience connecting with Foundation Fighting Blindness so meaningful. She found a community where people understood what her mom was experiencing and where she could see the kind of connection she hopes her mom can have, too.

“The work at Foundation Fighting Blindness is so important because it creates love and connection and a way for people to feel like they aren’t alone,” says Maggie. “It’s the one thing that I finally have hope in for my mom, and it’s the way that we can continue raising money for research to find change and to create that change forever.”

For Maggie, supporting that work has also become part of understanding what gives her life meaning.

“I have always had this idea in my head that I’m searching for, what does happiness really mean? What does true happiness really mean?” says Maggie. “And I’ve started to find that it’s by giving back to something outside of myself. I’m a part of something bigger than myself.”

Now, Maggie wants to use her voice and her talents to help raise awareness, support research, and help other families affected by blinding diseases feel less alone.

Because while she can’t change what her mom has experienced with RP, she can help create a different experience for the families who come next.

 

Inspired by Maggie's story? Share your own. During October’s Blindness Awareness Month, #ShareYourVision is raising awareness about the many ways people experience vision loss. Together, our stories can inspire understanding and move research forward.