Chester Triplett
Tandem Stoker
Chester Triplett is the stoker for R5-PARA Racing. He is a 37 year old Army Veteran who was diagnosed with Stargardts Disease while serving in the Army on active duty in Field Artillery.
Stargardt disease is the most common form of inherited juvenile macular degeneration. The progressive vision loss associated with Stargardt disease is caused by the death of photoreceptor cells in the central portion of the retina called the macula.
The retina is the delicate light-sensing tissue lining the back inside wall of the eye. Photoreceptor cells in the retina provide vision by conveying information from the visual field to the brain. The macula is responsible for sharp central vision — for tasks like reading, watching television, and looking at faces.
Decreased central vision is a hallmark of Stargardt disease. Side vision is usually preserved. Stargardt disease typically develops during childhood and adolescence. Also involved in Stargardt disease is a region beneath the macula called the retinal pigment epithelium.
How quickly does vision fade?
The progression of symptoms in Stargardt disease is variable. Visual acuity (the ability to distinguish details and shape) may decrease slowly at first, accelerate, and then level off.
Chester was honorably discharged from the Army in2001 and became a first generation college student in 2002. Despite a visual impairment, Chester developed new learning skills, adapted to the classroom, and graduated from Kent State University with his Psychology degree in 2008. soon after graduation, while attending the Veteran Administration’s blind rehabilitation program in Birmingham, Al., Chester discovered the Paralympic Cycling division. It was this discovery that made it possible to build the training and racing model that exists today which is the foundation upon which Stargardts Disease is defeated.
