As Darren's Eyesight Dims, a New Friend Provides Light

SALEM, Ore., Oct. 13, 2004 -- -- Darren Abrahamson was just a toddler when his parents noticed he was stumbling and bumping into things more than his peers.

It wasn't until he turned 5 years old that his worried parents started to realize what might be causing Darren's stumbles.

"He was just standing a few yards from me and said 'Where are you mommy? Where are you?' And that's when it really hit me," said Anna Abrahamson, Darren's mother.

Darren was soon diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a rare incurable disease that slowly robs its victims' eyesight.

Darren's doctors say the fifth-grader is likely to become completely blind one day. Darren, now 10, says the reality of the situation has just started to sink in.

"I knew that my eyesight was getting worse, but I didn't know it was this serious back then," Darren said.

Just four years after being diagnosed, Darren is already legally blind. He is now only able to read the largest letters on standard eye charts. Darren, who seems to always think positively, says he would be satisfied if he were able to keep the vision he has now.

"I don't care if it gets better if I can stay like this. That's all I need," Darren said.

Focusing on Here and Now

For those who love Darren, the slow loss of his eyesight is heartbreaking. But Darren knows he will be OK. The young boy has shown a maturity that's far beyond his years when it comes to dealing with the disease.

"They say you'll probably turn blind, and I'll be scared and I'll say I don't want to go blind. I'd always be thinking about it -- but it might never happen and I could be saying that for the rest of my life. So I just don't even think about it," Darren said.

But Darren says he's not ignoring the possibility that his world will go completely dark in the years to come. He says he's prepared himself.

"Well, I'll just take it as it is. It will be just kind of not happy for a week after it happens, but I'll just get used to it," he said.

Meanwhile, Darren's parents are on a mission to take him on trips as often as possible, so that he can treasure what he can see now. His mother says she hopes to bring him back to Ireland to see her family once more.

"So he'll always have this memory of who they are, what they are and what they were doing when he last saw them."

Hard Breaks and a New Inspiration

Over the years, Darren has watched some of his favorite hobbies slip away from him. The disease has robbed him of his ability to play both baseball and basketball.

"I used to get hit with the ball all the time and I said, that's it, enough," Darren said.

And just when Darren needed it most, an article in Salem's "Statesman-Journal" inspired the young boy and led him to understand that he would never have to give up everything he loves.

Anna Abrahamson said the profile on Nelancey Porter, a special athlete who lives just a few towns away from Darren, touched her son in a way she never expected.

"He just said, 'Mommy, that's me. That's exactly me.'"

Porter, who was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa at age 6, is an impressive runner, who competed in the Paralympics in Athens last month.

Now 20, he can barely see at all, but he runs with the help of a guide.

Before Porter left to compete in Athens, Darren's mother called Porter's mother and told her how excited Darren was to hear about her son.

While in Athens, Porter made the finals in all four of his sprint events -- the 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters and the 4x100 meter relay. Even though they had not yet met, Porter dedicated each race to Darren, his kindred spirit back home.

The two met upon Porter's return and they both found peace, hope and understanding in one another's presence.

"I'm happy now … to have Darren as my little homie now, my new buddy," Porter said.

Nelancey signed a T-shirt and the running shoes he wore during his best race in Athens for Darren.

Abrahamson says it was a blessing that both families came together so they might inspire and help one another through their similar struggle.

"He [Darren] wrote in his journal that Nelancey changed his life and led him to believe in himself. I've never heard Darren even say that before," Abrahamson said.

Porter, who is now studying psychology at Western Oregon University, hopes to eventually help visually challenged children. From what Darren says, it seems Porter is well on his way to reaching that goal.

"He's like a big brother -- I guess you can say he's a hero, too."

Find out more about retinitis pigmentosa at www.blindness.org and www.visionconnection.org