Writer Sheds Light On A Little Known Disease That Affects Sight

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — A father is tapping into his talent as a writer to raise awareness for a little known disease that claimed his son's vision.

"My very first reaction was if there were just some way that I could give him my eyes, I would. That's the only thing I haven't been able to give him," David Lawrence said.

It is words like these that describe the love David feels for his son Adam, a love that Adam can hear and feel but cannot see. The 51-year-old went blind in his late 30's from a genetic disease called Retinitis pigmentosa. He was diagnosed as a teen.

"As the years went on I found it more difficult to do a lot of things. Bright lights bothered me. I eventually did start to lose night vision and eventually the peripheral vision went. So it was a very progressive disease," Adam said.

His escort now is his dog, "Escort," who guides him in ways he never thought possible.

At 17 when he first found out he had the disease, he knew that he could lose his sight, but says that luckily he had some time and got to see precious things that he will never forget, like his wife of 28 years.

"For the first 20 or so I was definitely able to see her and things. I was very fortunate because I did get to see everything up until that point, so we traveled before that. So I've been to places and I've seen them and have pictures in my head. So if we go back I can remember what they looked like," he said.

The eye disease damages the retina and over time, like in Adam's case, it can lead to blindness. It affects hundreds of thousands of people in our country.

But the Lawrences know that most people have no idea what it is and because there is no cure, research is desperately needed.

That is where Adam's father comes in. As a TV writer and film producer and former president of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, he knows how to put words to the page.

But this time he is taking a novel approach, combining his love of travel and his love of stories in writing a series of novels to benefit the foundation fighting blindness.

His son recently heard his father read his new book "Murder in Merry Old" for the first time. It was a moment the two will not forget and he hopes others will find his novel not just entertaining, but appreciate that it is going to make a difference.

"I realize that this is a little something I could do, I mean we've donated every year and that sort of thing, but this is something personal," David said.

Adam says he is blessed to have so much support, and love around him. He does not look back and hopes his story and the stories his dad is penning will help others as well.

"It's a disease that people need to be aware of and the more that we can do to find, you know to get research funded, so that they can hopefully find some treatments and cures, the better," Adam said.

For More Information:

» David Lawrence's Book "Murder In Merry Old"
» More On Foundation Fighting Blindness