When she was a 24-year-old struggling actress living in Los Angeles, doctors discovered a benign pituitary tumor in her skull. During the operation to remove it, the orbit around her left eye was accidentally shattered. The surgery left her blind in her left eye.
With the help of her parents, Fran and David Nathan Loew, and eye surgeon, Dr. Glenville March, she founded the Loew Vision Rehabilitation Institute (LVRI), a nonprofit organization to provide low-vision patients with examinations from a specially trained optometrist and follow-up care, assistive devices that allow for independent living, occupational therapy that helps one navigate in the home or work environment and counseling for the patient and the family.
