As I mentioned in my first two posts, my inspiration to work in this field comes from having two very special children. I brag upon them all of the time, as moms often do. Today I would like to share the story of my older son, Tim. The reason for sharing is two-fold. First, if I am going to be asked to help you and your family, I believe you should know who I am. Secondly, my son, Tim, is doing some amazing things to help individuals who are blind and I want to share his inspiration with you. Tim started losing his eyesight in high school. Don’t ask what his “disease” is called. We don’t know. Only 3 people in the entire world have been known to have “it”. My father, who went blind in his late forties; me, who was diagnosed with “it” at age 12 but “it” went away and other than a couple of scares, have not lost any significant vision; and Tim, who was about 14 when the vision loss started and he was legally blind in both eyes by age 20. Tough hand to be dealt when you are six feet two by age twelve and love to play basketball. We had some great teachers, and some not-so-great teachers. We have had great VR workers and employers, and some not-so-great VR workers and employers. He has been seen and tested by world renown ophthalmologists from literally all over the world. But, in the end, the reality is that he became blind at a young age—right in the prime of his life.
Tim has gone through some challenges along the way. Sometimes dealing well with his blindness, and other times swamped with despair. It’s natural. However, his kind, sweet nature keeps him going. He is successfully employed, has a home, a wife, and the most beautiful 5-year-old daughter you could ever imagine (yes, I’m biased). But what I really want to brag about is his work in the blind community. Several years ago, he started attending support meetings for the blind at our local Cincinnati Association for the Blind. While he began going because he needed support, at some point, he realized that others seem to learn from him. He’s had a challenging time making the meetings lately, but he still keeps in contact with those he has met. Informally supporting them through those tough times as only another blind person can.
He started a website, Life After Blindness, where he shares his story, features other’s stories, and interviews individuals and companies that provide services and products for the blind. He makes sure to let everyone know about the latest ways that they can become more integrated in the community, and he’s always there to answer the emails that come his way, providing direction.
He’s super “techie” and now appears regularly on a weekly podcast with two others (one from England and one from Scotland) called Tech Talk on the RNIB network. And, if that wasn’t international enough, he also does works with them on Double Tap Canada, a weekly radio show featured in Canada. He has close to a thousand followers and works to help others live an “enabled life”. How cool is that?
If you or a loved one suffers from blindness or low vision, I would encourage you to check out these resources. Even though I am not currently visually impaired, I have learned more ways to make my “smart phone” work smarter for me and have learned about new technologies that are helping the blind lead more independent lives.
While I know that my son would trade anything and everything to see the face of his beautiful bride and little girl, his ability to rise above it and use his experience to help others makes me one proud mama.
I encourage you to share your own “proud mama” stories in the comment section below. I want all of us to be able to learn and share with each other as we navigate this maze called life.
Have a great week.
