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Liverpool legend and former Real Madrid player Michael Owen has spoken to the English press about the incurable disease his 17-year-old son suffered, which left him clinically blind and forced him to give up football.
James Owen dreamed of becoming a footballer until he was diagnosed with Stargardt's disease at the age of 8.
The young man's eyesight gradually deteriorated during his teenage years and he is currently "clinically blind".
" People expect me to play football and I used to enjoy it a lot. But later it got worse to the point where it was very difficult to know where the ball was. I really stopped enjoying the game because I wanted to be more the best ," explains Michael Owen's son in 'Mail Sport'.
" When I was younger I felt really sorry for myself. I thought 'why me?' I can't drive, I can't do this, I can't do that... But being upset about it won't change anything, so I better move on ," said James, who dreams : "I have my own business and support my family in the future".
Michael Owen tells how he experienced his son's illness: " He was screaming in pain. You just think why ?"
Michael Owen recounts in a conversation with Kathryn Beth, that " when someone comes up to you in the pub and asks 'does your son play?' you just want to change the subject. That's probably been the hardest thing in years ."
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— Mail Sport (@MailSport) January 18, 2024
Michael Owen opens up on his son's incurable condition that has left him clinically blind and forced him to give up on football ????️
✍️ @KathrynBatte
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The 2001 Ballon d'Or recalled that "when James was very young and his eyes were probably better than they are now, the fields were smaller and everything was much closer, so he could see the ball better ... it was very, very good." I said to my father, my wife and everyone, 'He has a good chance to be a football player.' But once he was diagnosed, he gradually stopped. He coped well ."
Regarding the medical treatments his son had to undergo, Michael Owen said it was not easy at all. " I take the positive side of everything. I have a lot to be proud of because James has become a brilliant boy ", - said Michael Owen, who with his son will develop the documentary "Football is for everyone" to be published on Jan. 30 on TNT Sports to raise awareness for Stargardt Disease.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology defines Stargardt disease as "an eye disease that causes vision loss in children and young adults. It is an inherited disease."
Symptoms are a slow loss of central vision in both eyes, gray, black, or blurry spots in the center of vision, sensitivity to light, and color blindness.
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