Blind man wants provincial government to pay for his chance to regain sight

Reginald Arseneau was 29 years old when he started losing his eyesight.

It didn't stop him from completing four years of university and building a house and a life. But now the 69-year-old has a chance to improve his vision, if he can only find a way to pay for it.

The Argus II, a new type of implant, captures images on a camera that's attached to glasses worn by the patient. The image is then transmitted to the eye's retina with the help of a small computer worn on a belt.

Arseneau, who suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, a condition that changes the way the retina responds to light, causing slow vision loss over time, could regain about two per cent of his eye sight, his opthamologist said.

But while the cost of the surgery will be covered, he needs help paying for the chip.

"It costs $150,000 just for the Argus II. It's the chip they put in the eyes with the computers so just for that, it costs $150,000," said Arseneau.  "After that it's sure I'll need a surgery but the government should pay the surgery. I will need also a follow-up for the first three months."

The New Brunswick government, however, said it's not paying.

In an email, Department of Health spokesperson Geneviève Mallet-Chiasson said the department will "not consider coverage for this prosthesis at this time."

"According to the New Brunswick Regulation 84-20 under the Medical Services Payment Act, schedule 2b, prosthetic devices are not insured services," she wrote.

Continue fight

Arseneau said he'll continue to lobby for financial aid.

He said he's lived with retinitis pigmentosa for over 40 years, but he is also losing his hearing now, and wears two hearing aids.

At home, he can still "see" with his hands, feeling his way around, even working on carpentry projects with the help of a braille ruler and measuring tape. But when he leaves the house, or goes on vacation, his wife, Marie-Ange, has to guide him, he said.

He hopes the implant will help him regain one of his senses, and his independence.

"I will see black and white and shapes," he said. "I could distinguish maybe a door, or windows, and that will really help me with my mobility."

Dr Falvio Rezende, of The Maisonneuve-Rosement Hospital in Montreal, said he's implanted the Argus II in two patients.

"To transform an illness that would seem to have no cure, and re-engage people into society, it's enormous," he told Radio-Canada. "It's possibly the most touching experience I've had in my career."