BOY WITH A BLINDFOLD

[Music] ladies and gentlemen I have a remarkable story to tell you something that involves all of us something that has a direct bearing on the lives of many thousands of our fellow citizens something that can really be called a miracle of Medical Science this is the story of two people one Mrs Mildred reading age 36 Home Baltimore Maryland successful fashion designer Health good the other Carl Schubert aged 12 home Waterville main mother widowed her son's Health good with one exception you are about to witness an astonishing fact how one person after death can bestow upon another perhaps the most precious gift in human existence sight [Music] and there was light light lifting the shade of night creating a new [Music] day light reflecting all the Myriad Joys the routine all the excitement of being [Music] the place New York City millions of people occupied with the problems of being but to Carl Schubert who suffers from a defect in his vision the world remains forever dim the time Thursday morning the man Manhattan eye ear and throat Hospital day of the i banks weekly corneal clinic for patients such as Carl schuber the human eye is a complex intricate delicately shaped miraculous as life itself consider for a moment only its outer protective covering a tiny transparent bit of tissue smaller than a dime called the cornea what is the cornea what is its function listen to a resident physician who conducts the weekly Clinic of the ibank for site restoration the cornea is in front of the white opaque fibrous membrane which surrounds the colored circular part of our eye we can lighten the cornea to the crystal on a watch here this is the cornea or Crystal this the iris with its Central perforation the pupil light passes through the cornea to the eye lens then through to the retina at the back of the eyeball the innermost part of the eye the retina acts as well as a tiny TV screen when light energy falls upon it the tiny nerve fibers of the optic nerve end in the retina and the nerve stimulus received by the retina is instantly flashed through the optic nerve to the brain the brain of course forms the picture we we see well the corneas of Carl Schubert's eyes were ulcerated by a disease he had early in childhood that's why today Carl must wear dark glasses to subdue the intensity of light because his Corners are scarred but Carl isn't alone throughout the United States there are about 30,000 known cases of people blinded because of scarred or clouded corneas caused either by accident or disease however this doesn't mean that these people can't regain normal vision in recent years Medical Science has developed a surgical technique by which healthy corneas taken from the eyes of a person who has just died can be transplanted into the eyes of a patient blinded by a corneal defect when a person dies remarkably the cornea of the eye continues to live but only for about 48 hours during the sort of life after death period the whole process of transplant must take place securing the corneal tissue almost immediately from the deceased shipped to the laboratory for processing then shipped to wherever in the country surgery is to take place in Carl's case our preliminary examination his medical history indicates that a corneal graft May restore his sight but Carl Schubert will have to take his place in a long waiting line thousands of patients throughout our country in need of healthy coras there has been great success with this operation but there has never been nearly enough Coral material for all of our [Music] needs this is the national headquarters of the agency responsible for the weekly corneal Clinic the I bank for site restoration founded during the last years of World War II Dr Fleming Dr Paul Fleming it's purpose to promote the need for eye material for human graft and research to channel such material to those throughout our nation deprived of normal vision those for whom surgery can work a modern-day wonder the ibank is a nonprofit organization dependent upon public interest and support for existance upon funds contributed by you and me those of us who believe the importance of the program of the ibank to promote human welfare the files of the ibank tell a revealing story of thousands of Americans responding to a noble impulse pledging upon their death an important gift to the living of hundreds of human beings their sight impaired recipient of these gifts today sharing in the world of sight [Music] for Carl Schubert's mother through her trip to New York City hope has been revived someday somehow her son's Vision may be [Music] restored in recent years science has opened our eyes to a Pandora box of Wonders has for example revolutionized travel creating major breakthroughs in transportation and communication taking us far out into the universe down to the depths of the Seas as man ever struggling to look beyond the discoveries of today strives to conquer more and more barriers in the world around him what will our world be like as you grow older and become citizens of this tremendous new age that is a challenge to every boy and girl in school today a world in which Carl Schubert cannot share [Music] the place hundreds of miles away an apartment in the suburb of Baltimore home of Mr and Mrs John reading Mildred reading thankful for her full life a successful marriage learns of the work of the ibank what inspires a person to look forward many years ahead to arrange today amid all the joy of living to leave a strange Legacy behind a request endorsed by all of our religious faiths the knowledge that people of all ages men women and children no matter what the condition of their eyes can make this greatest of all gifts for what greater gift can we give to others than the gift of sight you're a soft touch Millie but your eyes that's just it John I can give sight to someone who Liv many years longer than I who'll see things I'll never see it's like well it's like living forever a gift only God can grant don't worry dear I probably live to be aund well it's a wonderful thing of course but how do you bequeath your sight put it in your will how does one bequeath his sight to the [Music] living it takes months for a will to be probated therefore the act of donation must take place within a few hours after death then within 48 Hours the corneas must be transplanted a simple release form signed by the donor witnessed and kept in the custody of One's next of kin s solves this problem of time a rigid deadline the 48 hour period of Grace during which the corneal tissue after the death of the donor remains alive a period which the I bank as part of its research activity is determined to expand the I Bank conducts a great deal of basic research using eye material after the corneas have been transplanted to patients along with exploring the causes of various Coral disorders we're also working on a number of other projects including glaucoma and retinal detachment now to help in this work supplementing regular microscopic studies the I bank has added a department of electron microscopy under the electron microscope tiny sections of the eye are magnified thousands of times to help us learn all we possibly can about the various disorders of the human eye but let's go back to our work and applied research here in the laboratory we're trying to determine whether corneal tissue can be preserved so that it can safely be used for transplant someday this may be so this will erase the need for patients to wait long periods of time to receive a corneal transplant but the program of the I Bank includes research and other eye disorders as well for example retinal detachment about 4 fths of the volume of the eyeball is taken up by what we call Vitus body or humor a semi-firm transparent substance here you can see the location of the retina within the innermost part of the eye when the retina becomes detached from the ey's back wall and bulges forward the blood supply to the retina is cut off without this blood supply the retina cannot function and site is lost however through research a way has been found to correct some types of this condition by injecting into the vitus cavity an extra charge of this jelly-like substance the retina can be forced back into place and so the I Bank maintains a Vitus Bank Vitus obtained from eye donors to be used for patients suffering from retinal Det attachment all of this of course depends on getting into the laboratory all the eye material we need to continue as well as to expand our [Applause] work yes the I bank has a research program that's extensive and varied but it's seriously limited only because of lack of sufficient funds to pay for the necessary help and Equipment now we know a good deal about the pathology of the human but we need to know a great deal more and our future program is entirely dependent upon public support in other words upon you and your individual contributions now you've just seen how we held out a hope made a promise to try to restore the sight of a young boy but would we be able to keep this promise would our program continue to gain the support necessary to carry us through to the the restoration of [Music] sight for Carl schuber his trip to New York is long forgotten for Mrs Schubert Hope Has slowly waned like every mother she would gladly give her own sight for her child but only after one's death where no sacrifices involved can Carl's Vision be fully restored as for Mildred reading she has long forgotten the step she has taken the only reminder of her decision is an identification card in her wallet also the release form signed witnessed and given to her husband one of many such pledges made by thousands of our citizens people upon whom the national ibank and local i banks in many of our larger cities depend for the source material to carry out their mission two people never to meet never to know each other divided by distance age yet their lives by a sudden stroke of Fate to be joined [Music] [Applause] [Music] Forever The Place Miami a fashion show opportunity for Mr and Mrs reading to combine a business trip with a brief vacation [Music] [Music] if you wish Mr reading I'll call the I Bank in New York immediately time is important that's just it John I can give sight to someone who live many years longer than I who see things I'll never see it's like well it's like living forever who will it be doctor that's something we never know the corny of one eye will go to one patient the other to someone else all we can be certain of is that somewhere in the country two people will be eternally grateful to Mrs reading [Music] New York City please Templeton 8 [Music] 9200 well thank you Dr Benson yes we'll get busy on it right away yes that's flight 604 nonstop we'll be looking for you through the immediate cooperation of the American Red Cross and our nation's Airlines eye material placed in a refrigerated container is sent on its way the first step in meeting the fast approaching deadline [Music] once received at the national headquarters of the I Bank the corneas are checked to see that they are suitable for grafting then one is sent to a patient somewhere in the United States and the other yes yes this is Mrs Schubert yes Dr Samuel by noon of the next day surgery to help restore the sight of Carl Schubert [Music] began a god-given gift Beyond Earthly price ey material from a donor freely given to the patient in the search for sight [Music] the corneal graft is to be made on one eye later a second operation will be performed [Music] on the second day Carl Schubert's eyes are dressed to many patients light at first is a blinding glare on each succeeding change of dressing the patient becomes more accustomed to the brightness of [Music] light 3 weeks later a familiar voice becomes a face good morning Carl and soon Carl is fitted with the proper glasses the moment has come [Music] light the full Wonder of light reaching Carl schuber because of the human Act of one woman who has helped make this miracle possible let's go [Applause] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] Carl Scher will never know the identity of his benefactor but through the vision of this boy a woman we will call Mildred reading lives on seeing the world today sharing in helping to build the World of Tomorrow the story you have just seen is based on case records of the ibank for site restoration Carl Schubert was one of the lucky persons that year for whom the ibank was able to provide material for corneal transplantation yet today throughout our country over 30,000 people in need of this kind of surgery are patiently waiting hoping to see again perhaps there's someone you know who now wears a blindfold that no power on Earth can remove except for the goodness of the human heart for it is within your power to help many of these people to see again indeed what greater Legacy can we leave behind than this living reminder of ourselves which Through The Eyes of another can perpetuate our own memory on Earth yet along with its need for thousands upon thousands of donors the I bank is also in great need of your financial support for it takes money and a good deal of it to carry on on the extensive program of the ibank for example its weekly corneal Clinic it's day-to-day effort to recruit donors throughout our country to affiliate an even greater number of our nation's hospitals with its work as it serves as a clearing house for eye material for corneal transplants providing transportation for such material from donor to surgeon ultimately to the patient conducting as well an extensive research program in various disorders of the human eye a great number of activities including an instruction course given twice a year for opthalmologists in the surgical technique of corneal transplantation this is the program undertaken by the ibank the organization on whom thousands of our less fortunate fellow citizens depend to help them in the restoration of their site but if its work is to go on the ibank must have your help so that many who now are blind can enter the world of light so that the story of Carl Schubert can be repeated over and over again n