Ken Twergo and Patty White have lived unpredictable lives.

Like with many adventurous characters, things did not always happen by plan. They had been spending a largely recreational decade in the mountains of Idaho in the 1990s when Patty began to have vision problems, seemingly out of the blue. There in the magnificent white of winter snow country, dark splotches appeared all over her vision.

She was diagnosed with an inflammatory disorder of the retina and macula. Her condition was little understood. Eventually she was unable to read, see faces, or drive a car. Until Ken found low vision technology, by attending a disabilities conference, Patty's condition threatened a treasured new position as Assistant Director of the Idaho Humanities Council.

Ken had owned several businesses in his life. Patty's needs led him to a new one. He opened Intermountain West Low Vision Products in 1998 and traveled throughout Idaho and Montana introducing low vision technology. Within a few years, he moved the growing business from Boise, Idaho to the Portland metro area and expanded his travel into Washington and Oregon. He trademarked a new company name, Vision Matters, in 2001 and grew the business further with a team of representatives. The company worked now in a five-state region. That year Patty moved to Portland to join Ken in the business.

A 2007 name change to The Low Vision Store reflected another realignment: a new, physical showroom in Vancouver, Washington, continued personal service and travel in Oregon and southwestern Washington, and a business that expanded internationally through the Internet. The couple now also works in Arizona, where they originally met and where they lived for many years.

In personal reflection, Ken remembers having his toll-free phone number on his cell phone, driving back roads of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon and Washington, fly rod often in the back seat, as he met people and brought them equipment that changed their lives. The couple together visited people on century farms in Oregon and in high rise apartments in downtown Seattle. They remain in close touch with many of their early customers. People's needs change, and technology also improves, opening new doors of activity. Once a person realizes how much they can do with electronic equipment, in particular, they often seek additional aids, or trade in what they have for something newer that might better satisfy their needs.

On the top of the page are the words, "Tools for Your Independence."  Ken and Patty know they have earned the trust of thousands of people. Over and again they are told by people and the doctors that refer them that their continuing service, creative problem solving, lack of sales pressure, and first hand knowledge have brought people independence and profoundly changed their lives.

Patty, a writer, artist, former college teacher and administrator, frequently speaks to support groups, Lions Clubs, and service organizations. She is one of the most experienced people in the country working with retirement facilities in designing low vision solutions for group settings. In her spare time she has been writing and helping her 94 year-old mother, Marjorie Newton. She has surprised herself and everyone around her by embarking on a passionate new venture: making jewelry, using tools under her CCTV reading technology for the detailed work of stringing, crimping, and wire wrapping the objects that she designs.  She jokes,"Artists squint their eyes to use blurry vision for the composition, so most of this is right up my alley."