Where Are They Now? Chase Hardage Update

Chase Hardage, son of VOC Founders, Vivian and Sam Hardage, was diagnosed with ocular albinism shortly after birth. At the time of his diagnosis, the understanding of this rare genetic vision disorder was limited. Unsatisfied with the lack of resources available for their son, Sam and Vivian created The Vision of Children Foundation. Chase has remained a prominent figure and voice for VOC throughout the years, and continues to share his story with others who may be able to relate to his experiences with visual impairments.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a professional baseball player.

Growing up, what was most challenging about having a vision disorder?

Not being able to read the board in class was a major challenge, even when I sat in the front row. I basically taught myself everything in school all the way through college.

What unique challenges did you have to overcome with your impaired vision that most sighted people might not think about?

I’ve always had to figure out different ways to identify people, places, and things, especially in public settings. Most people can recognize their friends’ face or read signs at a great distance. I could never do that so I’d have to memorize subtle details that I could pick out so I could live a more “normal” life in that regard. I would pay attention to the colors of shirts, pants, building shapes, to help differentiate one blob from another.

How was your school experience different from classmates who had full sign?

Visually, I had to memorize everything that was said as it was said. I often misread numbers in math because of small font. I could do the problem correctly, but I would do it with the wrong numbers. Often times, teachers didn’t care.

What college did you graduate from? What are you doing now?

I graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX with a double major in Economics and Sociology. I am the Vice-President of Operations for Hardage Hospitality in San Diego. I love living near the ocean in Pacific Beach where I can surf and enjoy amazing sunsets nearly every night.

Your parents started The Vision of Children Foundation to find a cure for Ocular Albinism and similar disorders. Do you think science will find a cure in our lifetime?

I certainly hope so, and while it would be awesome to just know (even for a day) what I’m supposed to see, I hope we find a cure for all the kids out there that couldn’t handle it the way I did. It was pretty rough at times, and being so into playing sports, it was always a challenge to be at such a disadvantage, but as so many others with physical limitations do, you learn to adapt in ways normal people don’t have to. It took a lot of trial by fire, but I feel I can live a relatively normal life. Yes, I’m always the “blind guy” and yes, I have to hold my phone two inches from my face to read a text, and yes, I have no idea what people are pointing to across a room half the time, but I’m used to it at this point. I got tough skin from all the problems it caused me as a kid, so those things don’t bother me personally anymore. That said, I can’t stand the idea of other kids having to deal with it.

Where do you see yourself in 20 years?

I love real estate and the hotel business. My goal is to continue to help grow Hardage Hospitality by expanding our portfolio of hotels and apartments across the United States. I love development and operations, and want to be able to stay focused on those areas of the business.

What advice would you give to a child who has a genetic vision disorder?

There will be things people with normal eyesight can do that you can’t, but that doesn’t mean you quit; it just means you have to work that much harder and figure out how to do it better. It won’t always be easy, and there will be times where things feel downright awful. You learn to embrace solutions to the problems instead of the problem itself. I’ve run into, tripped over, walked by, misread, and done a million dumb or silly different things because of my eyesight over the years; you learn to laugh at it.

What is the most important thing that sighted people should know about people who have a visual impairment?

We’re blind, not deaf. I’ve been lucky to have some awesome friends who have helped me out with many things over the years (finding lost items, reading signs, etc.), but it’s always been normal to me. No one wants to feel different simply because they were born with uncorrectable eyesight, which is why I say you need to lean into it.