A local lawyer is fighting both in and out of the courtroom, as he deals with a genetic disease that is causing him to lose his eyesight.Sean Callagy, owner of Callagy Law in Paramus, suffers from Retinitis Pigmentosa, a rare disease that causes certain cells in the retina to start to die; he has been slowly losing his vision over the past five years. According to the National Eye Institute, the disease progresses, impairing vision, when proteins in the cones that make up the retina stop producing and the cells die. Because of this, Callagy, a River Vale resident, has a hard time seeing important details of the things in front of him, and at this point can only see the blurry silhouette of them.
“It’s like looking through a straw,” Callagy explained. “My peripheral vision is a lot better, but things that are in front of me are usually very blurry.”
Callagy was diagnosed with the disease when he was five years old, but didn’t begin to notice problems with his sight until he was a teenager. Over time, the disease continued to impair his vision, and he is now classified as legally blind. But despite the heartache that comes with losing his vision, Callagy has learned not to take anything in life for granted, and pushes himself further to be the best he can be, and make a difference in other people’s lives – perseverance he said comes because of the hand he’s been dealt.
The disease progresses
The attorney has recently had to give up driving and can no longer read court documents without assistance. But he says the worst part of the disease has been the way his lack of vision has hurt his ability to watch his kids grow.
“It hurts when I’m trying to watch my kids play soccer,” Callagy said. “I have to just focus on them. If they kick the ball, I have no idea where it goes, so I try to just follow them. I tend to lose track of them with everything that goes on, but I try my best to keep up. To me, that’s been the hardest part. I can’t enjoy watching them grow up the way I would love to.”
Callagy also talked about how his vision has hampered his ability to scuba dive and some of the other activities that he does with his family. He praised his family for their understanding and patience, and expressed how much help they have been.
“Vacations can be rough too,” he said. “There might be 50 fish right in front of you, but I can only see five. My family is amazing though, they are just so understanding and supportive. I couldn’t do this without their support.”
Callagy grew up as a baseball player in Emerson. He played baseball for Columbia University in 1992 and was even told that he could be drafted in the Major League Baseball draft. During his senior year, however, the disease started to really affect his play, causing him to lose track of fly balls in the outfield. In a game against Army, Callagy dropped a fly ball with the bases loaded, causing his team to lose the game. The MLB took notice, and Callagy never got his chance to play in the majors.
“On a cloudy day, it was hard to track the ball,” Callagy explained. “I would drop like one of every 50 balls, but in the majors, that’s still too much.”
Callagy explained that sitting through the draft was one of the hardest things that he had to do.
“It was really rough,” he said. “Imaging sitting there by the phone for three days waiting for a call, knowing that you won’t ever get one, but you’re just hopeful you will. It was hard for sure.”
Inspired to take a chance
After his baseball career was over, Callagy went into banking, working for a bank in New York for a year. He then decided to go to law school, hoping that he would be able to use his law degree to help people. He started working for a big firm, but left shortly after starting because he didn’t like how the firm treated their clients. After leaving the firm, Callagy sought counsel from doctor and friend Dr. Charles Berg, who prompted Callagy to read “Awaken the Giant Within” by Tony Robbins. The book explains how we all have something special inside of us, and gives tips on how to bring that special something out of us.
“That book changed everything,” Callagy said. “It gave me the inspiration to start doing my own thing, and to take a chance.”
Callagy started his own law firm in 2003 and had 40 people working for him. He also started his own educational company that year, after he realized how much he loved coaching and teaching people. In 2006, he started Callagy Law, with the company’s foundation built around the principle of education.
Since the disease has really begun to take hold over the past five years, Callagy said he’s had to memorize everything from his trials, and credits his lack of vision for making him an even better lawyer.
“My situation created a sense of urgency for me,” he explained. “Despite my disability, I knew I was the best lawyer in the room. What’s even better is the fact that everyone in the room knew it as well. That’s how my situation has been a benefit. We’ve won some really big cases in the past few years, and it’s all thanks to the dedication of my entire staff. We’re all growing and learning from this, which is really great.”
Callagy Law has won over $27 million in verdicts during the past two years, during the same time that Callagy’s vision started to take a turn for the worst.
Retinitis Pigmentosa will skip the next generation, but one of Callagy’s daughters most likely carries the trait. If she has a son, he most likely will get the disease, just like Callagy and his grandfather, the lawyer said. According to the United States Library of Medicine, Retinitis Pigmentosa typically affects more males than females and males’ symptoms are usually more severe. Callagy explained that the disease has no cure, but researchers are making huge strides in three areas.
“Right now there’s no cure but there are options out there,” he said. “The three big areas where research is going towards are the bionic eye, gene research, and stem cell research. It’s all about continuing to spread the word about the disease and continue to get funding for it.”
Despite the disease, Callagy has stayed positive throughout his journey and thinks that the situation has led him to help people even more than ever.
“Every day I ask myself the same question,” Callagy said. “How can I do more? What else can I do to help? I’ve learned to appreciate the little things, and that’s always been my message to others. We always take things for granted. I don’t do that anymore.”
Email: carroll@northjersey.com
Attorney perseveres despite debilitating vision loss
