A Clarenville man has written a book about his sight loss and the work that went into identifying the rare and unique genetic disease he inherited.
James Mercer, who was born in Upper Island Cove and grew up in Bishop’s Cove in Conception Bay North, noticed at an early age that he suffered from night blindness.
As he grew older, his vision continued to worsen, but he found coping mechanisms and hid his impairment from others.
As a young man, Mercer baffled eye doctors who were trying to address his vision loss with glasses, but nothing worked. One eye doctor said his condition resembled Retinitis Pigmentosa, but there were differences that didn’t make sense. That’s when Dr. Jane Green, a genetic researcher at Memorial University, came in.
Photo via The Gazette
She had been researching a cluster of Newfoundlanders who all had similar symptoms, and the diagnosis was finally made—Newfoundland and Labrador Rod Cone Dystrophy Syndrome, a condition unique to this province.
Mercer, who has two siblings who were also diagnosed, soon learned that he was surrounded by people who had the same condition, all of whom were genetically linked.
He learned of blindness or poor sight in his family going back generations and learned that others who had the same disease were all descended from the same family.
Mercer also learned about research into the same altered gene in Sweden which appears to be linked to the Newfoundland cluster.
Mercer’s book, “I Sight, The Power of Perception” published by Dorrance Publishing in the US, is expected to be on store shelves before Christmas.
