ABINGDON, Va. — Visually impaired children from across Southwest Virginia gathered at an Abingdon church on Saturday, March 17, for an audible Easter egg hunt.
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Audible egg hunt built for area children with visual impairments
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Presley Tuggle, 5, from Saltville, Virginia, grabs an audible egg during the egg hunt in Abingdon, Virginia, on March 17. Tuggle has ocular albinism, a genetic condition that primarily affects the coloring of the eyes, making it more difficult for her to see. The egg she has collected has a switch to turn off the beep.
This audible Easter egg was built by the Virginia State Police Bomb Squad. An officer whose child had vision problems developed the original egg, and similar egg hunts are hosted throughout the state by the Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired.
Pleasant View United Methodist Church in Abingdon, Virginia, held the second annual egg hunt sponsored by the Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired on March 17. Kathy Malone, regional manager for the department, organized the event so families from Southwest Virginia could have fun and network with other children with disabilities.
Anna McCracken, 21 months old, from Bristol, Virginia, was born with anophthalmia, the term for a missing eye, and microphthalmia, the term for abnormally small eyes. She attended the audible egg hunt with her family on Saturday in Abingdon, Virginia. Anna goes to University of Virginia for treatments and for her painted prosthesis, her left eye.
Pleasant View United Methodist Church in Abingdon, Virginia held the second annual audible egg hunt in the region on March 17. Kathy Malone, regional manager for Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired, organized the event.
Camden Phillips, 6, relaxes in the corn pool prior to the audible egg hunt on March 17 in Abingdon, Virginia. Camden has nystagmus, sometimes called dancing eyes, an involuntary movement of the eyes. The corn pool hides several types of small animals for the children to find.
Damien Beck, 8, from Saltville, Virginia, feels for the switch to turn off the noise-producing egg he collected on March 17 in Abingdon, Virginia. Beck has pptic nerve hypoplasia (ONH), a medical condition arising from the underdevelopment of the optic nerves.
Josie Wyatt runs her hand down the arm of her father to find an Easter egg she is searching for during the audible egg hunt on March 17 at Pleasant View United Methodist Church. Wyatt was born with bilateral anophthalmia, a rare condition characterized by absent eyeballs, and is from Damascus, Virginia.
Shana Phillips talks about having a child with a vision disability and how she is starting a support group for Russell County called Angels Among Us. Phillips and several other families attended the audible egg hunt at Pleasant View United Methodist Church on March 17.
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