Teen with rare Stargardt disease loses sight, keeps riding

Artyom Saliev was diagnosed with Stargardt disease at 14 and is gradually losing his vision, but the 16-year-old still skateboards, rides a motorbike and studies to become an auto mechanic.

Sep 22, 2026

At 14, Artyom developed a rare genetic condition — Stargardt disease. It is gradually robbing the teenager of his sight. There is no cure for the disease and no way to halt its progression. He is now 16. The teenager is still getting used to his new reality, but he does not waste time. He rides a skateboard and a motorbike, and he is also training to become an auto mechanic. All the details are in our new video.

Artyom had astigmatism from childhood, so the first symptoms did not raise alarm. But later the changes became too noticeable. Before the start of the school year in 2023, his mother, Yulia, noticed that her son was holding his phone almost right up to his face. But the boy brushed off her suggestion to see a doctor.

“He comes back from the dacha in September, and I see that my child is holding the phone close to his face. I say: ‘What’s wrong with you?’ He started making excuses: ‘No, Mom, everything’s fine.’ But then his grades slipped. I ask him: ‘Tyom, what’s going on?’ He says: ‘Mom, I can’t see anything,’” Yulia told MSK1.RU.

But the teenager himself gradually grew more worried about his health. One day he could not make out a car’s license plate. That was when he first realized things were bad.

“We were out walking with friends. A car drove past, the guys started looking at the plate, and I said: ‘I can’t see it.’ Everything began to blur before my eyes. Then I thought: ‘I probably just didn’t get enough sleep.’ Then school started. In class I realized that my near vision was getting worse too. For two months I didn’t tell anyone anything. I thought maybe it was temporary, that it would go away on its own.”

Then came a series of visits to doctors, diagnostic tests and a search for a diagnosis. Artyom was stressed by the sheer number of examinations. The nerves even caused him to faint at the clinic where he was being examined. But the main stress was still ahead, when the doctors finally understood what was happening to him.

Read more about the diagnosis and how Artyom lives in our video and in the full article.