Book Description
One early morning, a mother, two brothers, and a family petleave on vacation to return to their favorite place on earth.

French Toast, A White Cane and Memories is more than just a story about afamily vacation. With the amusing antics of Chase, the seriousness of hisolder brother, Bo, and the single mother who tries to hold the familytogether, this important trip to the Pacific Ocean turns into an epiphanyfor an older brother.

Raising a child with a disability requires courage and stamina. Parents ofdisabled children learn to hope for the best and expect the worst. When achild has a rare and incurable disease, sometimes hope seems elusive andsomehow always beyond our grasp.

This novel is based on the true story of a young boy (age 9) who is losinghis eyesight because of the devastating effects of the rare and incurabledisease, retinitis pigmentosa. With hope that this story will help raiseawareness of childhood blindness,French Toast, A White Cane and Memorieswas written not only for the two children in this book, but for thecountless other families who were blessed with less than perfect children.

Come along with Lucy, Bo, and Chase as they travel from central Californiato the very depths of the human heart. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

French Toast, A White Cane And Memories
French Toast, A White Cane and Memories is a fictionalized story about brothers Chase and Bo while on vacation with their mother. However, although labeled as fiction, this work is obviously heavily influenced by the author's own experiences with her own two boys.

Written from the point of view of Bo, the oldest of the two boys, the reader gains a picture of the family. Bo tries very hard to be a good big brother to Chase. Chase has some special issues. As a young toddler, Chase was diagnosed Retinitis pigmentosa, a rare degenerative condition that gradually takes away the boy's vision.

Making sense and adjusting to this diagnosis has been very hard on the family. Although she tries to be upbeat in front of the boys, Bo hears his mother cry at night sometimes. Intuitively, the young boy understands his mother's fears and steels himself to take care of her as well. An amazing kid and a loving family creating memories.

Grownups will love it too!
This book held my attention from beginning to end. It has all the elements that make it a good story. I especially liked it being written from the older brother's perspective. I liked the balance between Chase's boyish annoyance with his little brother Bo, and his role as protector. Without it ever being overtly stated, one feels the love Chase has for his mother and brother. His concern is felt by the reader as his family faces a very difficult, life changing situation.

Recommended for siblings of handicapped kids
Bo and Chase can't wait to get back to their favorite place on earth; and readers can laugh along as they travel with the brothers on a family vacation.

Written from a sibling's perspective, French Toast, a White Cane, and Memories is a fictional story based on the experiences of a real little boy who is losing his eyesight to a rare disease.

Through funny and touching stories, the author takes kids on a step by step journey with this little family, not only to the ocean shore, but through emotional struggles and on to better understanding, renewed hope, and closer unity.

The book's fourteen short chapters with large text and real "kid language" is perfect for ages 8 and up.

Through adventures that test their spirit, Chase and his family learn about loyalty and unconditional, self-sacrificing love.This charming book promotes compassion and tolerance of those with physical differences.It will touch the hearts of kids and parents alike.

Author Laura Fay Robbie writes from her own experience as a hard working single mom, devoted to her boys, on whose lives the book is based.Robbie's stories communicate the ups and downs of a family with a handicapped child.Topics include fear and courage, optimism and hope, family unity, and the value of friendships.

Parents, librarians, and teachers will find much to use for discussions about questions and problems children face.

French Toast, a White Cane, and Memories would make a great gift for any child, but especially for siblings of kids who are battling serious illness, injuries, or handicaps.
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Review by Marsha Jordan
Author of "Hugs, Hope, and Peanut Butter"
www.hugsandhope.org/pb.htm

Amazing Story!
Although it is fiction you could just feel what this family is dealing with in real life.I really liked the way the author told the story through the older son's eyes.You had a real feeling for what it was like to have a younger brother with a medical condition.
The book was written with so much detail that I thought I was taking the trip with them!It made me miss my times at the ocean.
I highly recommend this book for many reasons.There is a good story, it's very well written, but more importantly it gives you real insight about what living with RP is all about.

Wonderfully touching
This is a terrific story about the ups and downs of a real family.It's a touching story of a little boy losing his eyesight and the wonderful adventures he lives. ... Read more

Book Description
Hardbound. This volume covers the social and medical aspects of patient care in retinitis pigmentosa (RP), experiences of patients as well as national and international activities of the RP societies.The patient-related problems include such topics as genetic counselling, technical aids for blind and visually handicapped, therapy trials, human services, psychological, social, vocational and familial problems. ... Read more

Book Description
The article is excerpted fromGale Encyclopedia of Medicine.

Consult the second edition of this authoritative, comprehensive, in-depth medical guide for information on more than 1,700 medical topics in language accessible to adult laypersons. Presented in a single alphabetical sequence, articles range in length from one or two paragraphs for minor topics, to several pages or more for major topics. Disease/disorder articles typically cover definition; description; causes and symptoms; diagnosis; treatments; prevention; and more. Test/treatment articles typically cover definition; purposes; precautions; preparation; risks; normal and abnormal results; and much more. This second edition includes more than 200 new entries, 300 updated entries, approximately 650 color images and illustrations, and a comprehensive subject index. New features include biographical and historical sidebars throughout the text.

Disease/disorder articles contain some or all of the following sections:

• Definitions -- brief dictionary-style definition of the disorder
• Descriptions -- overview of the disorder; who gets it and why
• Causes & symptoms -- process, substance or organism that produces the condition; any risk factors that increase susceptibility to the condition; signs and symptoms of the disease
• Diagnosis -- overview of procedures and tests used to diagnose the condition; how the test is done; who should be tested and when; time required; cost; whether it's typically covered by insurance
• Treatments -- overview of conventional methods of care or management of the condition, such as drugs, surgeries, physical therapy, etc.
• Alternative treatments -- overview of alternative/complementary therapies that may be used to treat the condition
• Prognosis -- probable outcome of the disease
• Preventions -- what actions can be taken to prevent the condition from occurring

Book Description

Information on many genetic disorders, and the frequent new findings on them, has been extremely difficult to come byuntil now. The Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders addresses the need for current, hard-to-find facts on emerging discoveries. The two-volume Encyclopedia, presented in a single alphabetical sequence, provides clear, complete information on genetic disorders, including conditions, tests, procedures, treatments and therapies, in articles that are both comprehensive and easy to understand, in language accessible to laypersons. The articles are arranged in a standardized format for quick comparison and ease of use, while non-disorder topics are covered in detail with extended entries. Students will want to consult the Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders for useful information on a range of well known disorders, including Down Syndrome, Trisomy, Hemophilia and Tourette Syndrome, and rarely seen diseases such as Meckel Syndrome, Neuraminidase Deficiency and Phenylketonuria.

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Southern Medical Journal, published by Thomson Gale on September 1, 2006. The length of the article is 1780 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Retinitis pigmentosa and hypogammaglobulinemia.(Clinical report)
Author: John C. Starr
Publication: Southern Medical Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 99Issue: 9Page: 989(3)

Article Type: Clinical report

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Southern Medical Journal, published by Thomson Gale on September 1, 2006. The length of the article is 875 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Retinitis pigmentosa and common variable immunodeficiency disease: associated or separate?(Editorial)
Author: Margaret M. DeAngelis
Publication: Southern Medical Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 99Issue: 9Page: 914(1)

Article Type: Editorial

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description

Information on many genetic disorders, and the frequent new findings on them, has been extremely difficult to come byuntil now. The Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders addresses the need for current, hard-to-find facts on emerging discoveries. The two-volume Encyclopedia, presented in a single alphabetical sequence, provides clear, complete information on genetic disorders, including conditions, tests, procedures, treatments and therapies, in articles that are both comprehensive and easy to understand, in language accessible to laypersons. The articles are arranged in a standardized format for quick comparison and ease of use, while non-disorder topics are covered in detail with extended entries. Students will want to consult the Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders for useful information on a range of well known disorders, including Down Syndrome, Trisomy, Hemophilia and Tourette Syndrome, and rarely seen diseases such as Meckel Syndrome, Neuraminidase Deficiency and Phenylketonuria.

Book Description
At eighteen this rebel street kid found herself in Federal prison for stealing a car. When a new program gave her the chance for an outside day job while still in prison, she took it...along with the opportunity for clandestine lovemaking in a cheap hotel with fellow prisoner.

She was caught, stripped of her privileges. She also was pregnant. That brought a parole and a devastating betrayal—the price of her freedom was giving up her unborn child for adoption.

Out of prison, she plunged into the heady world of radical antiwar politics, playing and partying through the wild world of the late sixties in San Francisco.

Until recurring headaches drove her to seek medical help. "Sorry, we can't find any tumors," they said. "However, you are going blind. Oh yes, it's incurable, irreversible, and hereditary." She was twenty-three.

She bore a second child, a son. He would probably go blind, too. That made her mad and changed her life. No, by God, he wouldn't go blind!

This is the true story of Grace Halloran, a survivor, a person who gets things done against all odds. She tells how she, a blind mother, raised her son. She recounts the step-by-step process of intuition and serendipity that led to her developing unorthodox therapies which finally reversed her irreversible disease and reversed it in others, as well! What? The official scientific/medical commuity was incensed. How dare she!

She tells about her growing reputation. She gave classes. People from all over the world came to her, and she went all over the world. Her stories of helping people to see again are poignant. One thing is clear: she loves these people. She cares, and passionately.

But when she founded the Center for Eye Health Education in northern California, that was too much for the scientific/medical community. Who did this woman think she was? Reversing the irreversible! Political pressure led to the cancellation of the $100,000 grant from the State of California. The Center folded. But Grace didn't.

Amazing Grace is the powerful story of one woman's courage and fierce determination to save her son and herself from blindness. Full of fun and gritty reality, it is an inspiring account of what determination in the face of overwhelming odds can do. It is also a story of personal triumph over helter-skelter beginnings, even to the final pages, when Grace discovers what happened to the daughter who was wrested from her and put up for adoption over twenty years before. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

An inspiration for anyone stuggling with a visual impairment
Grace tell her life story with a lot of spirit and inspiration.From a turbulent adolescence where she served time in Federal prison to where she is now, Co-director of Maximum Eyes an Institute of Visual Healing. Dr. Halloran eloquently tells of her struggle with retinitus pigmentosa for herself as well as her fears for her son.Anyone with a visual impairment will be able to relate to her pains, her joys and be inspired

It started me on a program of visual recovery.
In September 1995, I was diagnosed with cone-rod dystrophy, a degenerative condition of the retina.Two independent retinal specialists diagnosed me with this condition.Both specialists told me that the disease typically leads to legal blindness over time and that there was no treatment for the disease.

Fortunately, on the day the doctor called me with the diagnosis, I found the book, Amazing Grace - Autobiography of a Survivor, at the Chicago Public Library.I was immediately intrigued by the idea that something could be done, and that people had gotten results.After contacting Grace, I attended a one-week therapy session, and experienced improvement in my eyesight in only one week of therapy.

I am haunted by the thought of how many people walk out of the doctor's office each day with the same diagnosis and same feeling of helplessness that I once felt.I was lucky to have found Grace's book, Amazing Grace - Autobiography of a Survivor, and to have recovered a great deal of my eyesight as a result of her work.For those who have not been so lucky, I hope that her book and work finds its way into their lives.Please feel free to share this letter with other people who are interested in her work.I would also be pleased speak to people and share my experience with them.Grace has become a great friend, and I will always be thankful for what she has meant to my life.

Incidentally, as I am finishing this letter, I just walked outside and looked at the stars in the sky.I looked directly at them and could see them just fine.

Eric Lickteig / Chicag ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

If you have MS.. this is a MUST READ!
This book is full of inspiration and hope. What an amazing story. The MSAA does amazing things for people with Multiple Sclerosis. I have given this as gifts because it is invaluable information all MS sufferers need to know. ... Read more

Book Description
This book represents the proceedings of the Sixth World Congress of the International Retinitis Pigmentosa Association (IRPA), Dublin, Ireland, July 20-22, 1990. It is intended for all research workers and ophthalmologists interested in the etiologies and diagnosis of inherited degenerative retinopathies. The book contains 22 original papers, many of which are genetically oriented. The genetic focus is due to the fact that highly significant progress in genetic research has been made over the last few years. Topics addressed in the book include proteins of the visual transduction cycle and their effect in the etiologies of RP, identification of more mutations, and new technologies for genetic analysis. The new technologies, in particular, will interest specialists in molecular genetics and researchers seeking information about more clinical applications and the implications of research of inherited retinopathies. ... Read more