A Strategy of FAITH for Living Life Despite The Challenge of Blindness with Richard Faubion (Episode #71)

By Vision Beyond Sight on Passion, podcast, Vision Beyond Sight, Vision therapy

Dr. Lynn Hellerstein of Vision Beyond Sight speaks with Richard Faubion, Sr. Gift Officer of Foundation Fighting Blindness and former entrepreneur who now manages 600 donors annually to support treatments and cures for blindness, and families and people afflicted with it. Richard talks about having retina pigmentosa that caused his loss of vision at the age of 34, and how he considered it a challenge, not simply a disability, to be overcome by his strategy of FAITH toward living a fulfilled and happy life.

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Richard’s diagnosis of retina pigmentosa that caused loss of vision at the age of 34
Challenges and limitations vs. disability
His life’s transitions, dealing with himself, using a white cane, and getting a guide dog
Richard’s FAITH – faith, acceptance, integrity, tenacity, honor
Richard’s next Everest
How to reach Richard and Foundation Fighting Blindness
The importance of putting trust in other people (especially his guide dog!)
Inspiration to love yourself from the poem Love After Love by Derek Walcott

About Richard Faubion:

Richard Faubion was born in Houston, Texas doing all schooling in that area until college. He attended Georgia Tech and graduated with a BS in Industrial and Systems Engineering. While working in Chicago for Zenith, he got an MBA in Finance and Marketing. During his Industrial Engineering career, he was involved working for Continental Can, Schlitz Brewing and Zenith Radio.

By age 34, Richard’s loss of vision due to retina pigmentosa (RP) had him seek out to become an entrepreneur. He bought a janitorial chemical, equipment and supplies company in Houston. He grew that company from $1 million to $2.5 million in sales per year, sold it in 1998 and moved to Colorado. He owned a Maytag store for 3 years then closed it after 9/11 and moved to Denver. He began working for the Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB) as a fundraiser.

He is currently the Sr. Gift Officer for FFB managing 600 donors nationally. He has raised $20 million since 2006 and has been involved with the Colorado VisionWalk and Scramble for Sight golf tournament.

He has been married to Claudia since 2000 and they live in Littleton and Pagosa Springs, Colorado. He has a daughter named Faith Ervin, 34 years old, and a grandson, Ezekiel, 1.5 years old.

Richard has used a white cane to support his low vision since 1989 and he is on his third guide dog since 2007. He is totally blind from RP and uses his iPhone with Voiceover. His computer uses JAWS text-to-speech software.

His mission is to raise money to support treatments and cures for blindness and support individuals and families dealing with vision loss, and share empowering tools to support them along their journey.

Connect with Richard Faubion and Foundation Fighting Blindness:

“A lot of people call some kind of issue you’re dealing with a disability. I hate that term. Because it’s not true! You’re not disabled. You have a challenge. You have a limitation. In other words, I feel anything is possible. I can do anything anybody else can do. I’m just gonna do it differently. And so I just have to come up with a different way, adapt, or adjust, or come up with a different possibility of how things might get done. I kind of learned that it’s becoming a challenge versus a disability. I felt that early in my life but later on, I just realized, you know, it’s just a challenge. I can still do it because I showed that I could! I did it!” – Richard Faubion

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Dr. Lynn Hellerstein, Developmental Optometrist, co-owner of Hellerstein & Brenner Vision Center, P.C., award-winning author and international speaker, holds powerful and inspiring conversations with her guests in the areas of health, wellness, education, sports and psychology. They share their inspirational stories of healing and transformation through their vision expansion. Vision Beyond Sight Podcast will help you see with clarity, gain courage and confidence. Welcome to Vision Beyond Sight!

Dr. Lynn’s books are available at Amazon.com and www.lynnhellerstein.com/shop.

Dr. Lynn is available for speaking engagements and consulting. For more information, visit www.lynnhellerstein.com.

To learn more about vision therapy or to find a doctor providing vision therapy in your area, visit: COVD.org.

To learn more about vision and the impact in concussion/brain injury, visit: Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association.