Some people take a difficult situation and adopt the victim mentality. In other words, they “take it personally”. However, there are others who, due to the personal nature of the situation, choose to become involved with the hope of making a difference. These people “Make it personal” in an extremely positive way to help change things, not just for those closest to them, but for anyone facing similar challenges.

I have the honor of knowing such a person. His name is Myron Hepner. I met him more than ten years ago while conducting a training workshop in the Midwest. There was an immediate connection as he shared the story of his son who is blind in one eye. He also talked about his passion for helping other families in similar situations. I’ve followed his continued efforts over the years, and this year I reached out to him with some questions. Myron agreed to an interview regarding his work and his son Brendan’s story.

When and how did you discover Brendan’s eye condition?
Brendan was about 8 months old when we started noticing photographs with “white eye” in his right eye instead of “red eye”, which was showing in his left eye. Then we started noticing a gray reflection in his pupil. That’s when we decided to take him to a pediatrician. He sent us to the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center right away. That’s when we knew something serious was happening. Brendan was diagnosed with retinoblastoma (cancer in the eye).

How did you react?
We were stunned. We had never heard of retinoblastoma. Being new parents, we were just getting used to not panicking over every little thing. Then we find out our son has a life-threatening condition that needed immediate treatment – yikes!

However, I was immediately grateful for the staff and care providers at Kellogg Eye Center. They literally dropped everything to see us that first day, and provided us with information and treatment options. They also connected us to another family that had recently had the same thing happen, and that family has been a tremendous support and comfort to us through the years.

How did your family react?
My mom was emotional, but positive. She is the spiritual rock of our family. She had faith at all times.

My sister was a blessing; she is the solid foundation for our family. At the time, she told me that as devastating as the day is, a year from then we would look back at it as the day we moved forward in healing Brendan, and not the day things ended. That always stuck with me and encouraged me.

What was the timeline from diagnosis to now?
6 days after the diagnosis, Brendan’s eye was enucleated and an implant was put in. He was 9 months old. They examined the optic nerve and detected no cancer cells. A week later, the lab result came back and confirmed that finding. We had caught it in time, and he was cancer free.

He received his prosthetic, which is separate from the implant, when he was 11 months old. It is created and maintained by an Ocularist, Dr. Greg Dootz, at the Kellogg Eye Center. It is shaped and molded to fit him and be held in place by his eyelids, and painted to exactly match the color of his remaining eye. We have prosthetic checks and adjustments every 6 months.

Through time until now, it’s grown to only annual exams, all at the Kellogg Eye Center. Each time we are grateful that he remains cancer free!

How was March Hoops to Beat Blindness (MHBB) started?
After so many appointments at U-M Kellogg Eye Center, and receiving such incredible care and service from their amazing staff and care providers, I was filled with a deep sense of gratitude for all they have done for Brendan, me, and my family. The world-class research being conducted at U-M Kellogg Eye Center will continue to lead to new innovations in treating and preventing blinding conditions. That struck a personal chord. I thought if I could provide some small help to those research efforts, it could benefit a great many people.

At that time, I had a long-standing tradition with several friends to get together and watch all the games during the first round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. I began to think of a way to turn my love of college basketball into an opportunity to give back. I put the two ideas together – basketball and vision research – and March Hoops to BEAT Blindness was born!

What are some milestones that MHBB has achieved to date?
First, the research funding has resulted in new knowledge leading to new techniques in patient care. That has truly been gratifying.

Second, the community response has been terrific. People look forward to the event and often reach out to me before I even start promotions for the current year. 2020 is the 14th year for MHBB. Participation has grown steadily, and at the end of last year, the total lifetime MHBB donations exceeded the $100,000 mark.

And finally, we have met many other Kellogg Eye Center patients and their families. We’ve helped some parents through dark and difficult times. Children with retinoblastoma have met Brendan and know they aren’t the only ones who have a “special” eye or need to visit the Kellogg Eye Center so often.

What advice would Brendan give to other young people living with some type of physical challenge?
One of the most impactful things on a person’s self image and self confidence while living in today’s society is what other people say about you – particularly critical and negative comments. If you learn to not take the verbal beating and abuse from people, and find value in the person you are, it will take you a lot further than you would expect. Stay true to who you are. Be optimistic in every situation having the mindset that you will succeed even though you have physical challenges; you will still succeed and excel much further than you would guess.

Myron, what advice do you have for parents with a child that is living with a physical challenge?
Find other parents and support each other. That was the biggest help for me while going through Brendan’s enucleation and recovery.

Help others who are dealing with the same thing. It will be a source of inspiration and encouragement for you to give to them like that.

Don’t hold your child back. They will let you know what they can handle and what they can’t. Take the necessary precautions, but let them live their life.

Enjoy every moment with them.

And finally, my sister’s words on that very first day – know that better days are ahead and take today to move forward toward healing and treatment.

What final thoughts would you like to share regarding this journey?
I am so proud of the young man he has become. Brendan is very smart and is looking forward to starting college this fall. He intends to pursue a degree in video game design.

As I reflect back on our journey, every problem presents an opportunity if you look hard enough for it and are willing to go for it. In the 14 years of hosting March Hoops to BEAT Blindness, something has not gone as planned every year. Some challenges were bigger than others. But the solutions to those challenges, particularly the big ones, have turned out to be some of the biggest improvements and most enjoyable aspects of the event.

Myron’s final thoughts echoed in my mind this week as global health concerns may cause the cancelation of this year’s MHBB gathering at Pizza House in Ann Arbor, Michigan on March 19th and 20th. However, if you’d like to make a donation in support of research programs at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center, you can visit the MHBB web site at BeatBlindness.com

If you know someone who has chosen to “Make it personal”, please contact me with their story as I’d like to feature more people who have taken a challenging situation and crated a positive impact.