‘The Voice PH’ judge and international artist Apl.de.ap was born visually impaired, doctors say it could have been prevented if it was detected and treated at an early age.
When he was adopted at age 14 and was brought to the U.S. in 1989, doctors were able to address his eye condition to avoid his total blindness.
Apl.de.ap then launches ‘Apl of My Eye’, a campaign to help address a critical medical concern in the Philippines called retinopathy of prematurity, or ROP, an eye condition that affects 10 percent of all births in the Philippines.
ROP is caused by disorganized growth of the retinal blood vessels which may result in scarring and retinal detachment.
The campaign aims to train Filipino doctors and create local capacity in the medical community here in our country in the early detection and treatment of ROP; it is a two-year initiative by the Apl.de.ap Foundation International.
A team of medical specialists headed by Dr. Thomas Lee of the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles will bring in the necessary equipment to assist in the diagnosis and will do demonstration surgeries with Filipino doctors.
“So what else is the best gift, but the gift of vision for all these children,” uttered Apl.de.ap last November 15, 2014 during the campaign’s launching.
(Photo Source: Apl.de.ap. Foundation’s Facebook Page)
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