Brotherly Love: Blind Brothers Reach For A Cure
By Ukee Washington
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Two Bucks County brothers, both blind from the same rare genetic condition, don't let that stop them. For years, they've been raising money for research. Eyewitness News anchor Ukee Washington says they have half a million reasons to have hope.
Michael Smedley has chops. He played and sang "Born to Run" for Ukee and helped him play "Heart and Soul."
"I messed up! I messed up!" Ukee laughed.
The 15-year-old plays in a band, despite being legally blind.
"What do you see? Tell me about your vision now," Ukee asked.
"Right now, I can tell that you're sitting in front of me," said Michael. "You have a face, but I can't see eye color, eyelashes, the details."
His 12-year-old brother Mitchell has the same disorder and is also legally blind. Mitchell explained the difference between his sight and his brother's: "He's got more central vision. I am more peripheral."
Doctors told their parents the boys' sight would only get worse. "They said maybe in 50 years, there would be hope," said their mother, Kristin Smedley.
The brothers, sister Karissa, and parents helped start the Curing Retinal Blindness Foundation. Eyewitness News first met them in 2011 working on gift baskets for a cycling fundraiser called Bike the Basin.
"All this hard work is finally going to pay off," the young Michael said in 2011. And it has.
"Our big fundraiser, Bike the Basin, is close to raising half a million dollars. We're on track to do that, which is amazing," Michael said.
The foundation has funded six medical research teams around the world, and next year the first-ever clinical trial.
Kristin calls the community support "out of this world."
The next Bike the Basin is Sunday, September 20. Michael's band will play. Karissa's soccer team is collecting coins. Every cent bringing the boys closer to the goal: a cure within 5 years.
"We aren't waiting 50 years," Mitchell declared.
"I hear ya," Ukee said.
"No way," Mitchell said.
Mitchell loves the weather and hopes to become a meteorologist.
The fifth annual Bike the Basin is Sunday, September 20 at the Northampton Civic Center in Richboro. It starts at 9:30 am. To find out more, go to www.bikethebasin.org.
