Category: Inspirational Stories

The following story was submitted by one of our readers and I think we can all agree that Babe is a true inspiration and a perfect fit for this section. Our thanks go out to her son who was kind enough to share this with us.

“My mother will be 99 years young in September 2010. When she was 91 she had been reading (one of her most favorite things to do) and she suddenly felt a pain in her eye. She lost clarity and things became hazy to the point she could no longer read her book.” (continue reading…)

Reni Jackson lost much of his sight, but he never lost his competitiveness.

After his eyesight deteriorated when he was a teenager, the Louisville native continued to thrive in sports. He eventually became a star in the niche sport of goalball, which was created to aid the blind. (continue reading…)

A famous local artist, Virginia Doyle, has graciously lent her work to Benetech/Bookshare for display on conference room and hall walls.

The unique aspect of this display is that in 2002, Virginia was diagnosed with macular degeneration, a medical condition of the eye that makes it difficult or impossible to read or recognize faces.  This disease is a leading cause of blindness among older citizens due to the loss of light sensing cells in the retina. (continue reading…)

Brian McKeever never set out to be a trailblazer for elite athletes with a disability. The legally blind cross-country skier from Canmore, Alta., just wanted to push the limits of his own ability.

But when he tackles an Olympic cross-country trail in the Callaghan Valley in February against the world’s best endurance athletes, the man with just 10 per cent vision — all of it peripheral — will be pushing a clear vision of athletic excellence that is blind to limitation. (continue reading…)

Canadian cross-country skier Brian Mckeever is the first winter sports athlete to compete in the Olympics and Paralympics. mckeever, who is visually impaired, believes in the power of big dreams.

MIAMI (AFP) – A 60-year-old US grandmother, blind for nearly a decade, has recovered her sight after surgeons implanted a tooth in her eye as a base to hold a tiny plastic lens, her doctors said Wednesday. (continue reading…)

OXFORD – Anything can be achieved with enough determination, no matter what the obstacle. Of this, 24-year-old Samantha Wackford is living proof.

In June, the young woman passed a high school equivalency exam to earn her General Education Degree. While this may not seem like a huge accomplishment for some, for the Guyana native who lost her sight after she was burned by acid, it has been no small feat.

In April of 2002, just two short weeks before she was set to graduate from high school in her homeland, “Sam” (as she is called by her friends), was the victim of an intentional attack, which both blinded her and left her permanently scarred.

After spending more than a year recovering, she moved to Boston. It was there that, while enrolled in an adult independent living program at the Carroll School for the Blind, she met Troy Wackford. The Oxford native, who was in the same program, had been diagnosed at a young age with Retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic eye condition which had caused his vision to gradually deteriorate over time.

It didn’t take long for the two to fall in love, and in October of 2007 they were married. Shortly after, the couple moved to Troy’s hometown.

Despite her loss of vision, Sam Wackford never lost sight of her goal of furthering her education.

“I wanted to get my GED,” she explained. And in September of 2008, she began working toward that goal. Her first step was to sign up for the Adult GED program offered through DCMO BOCES, which is how she met Instructor Anne Walters.

Source for complete article: http://www.evesun.com/news/stories/2009-09-15/7849/Visually-impaired-woman-earns-GED/

(One of Joan Huntley’s stunning pieces of work )

A PARTIALLY sighted artist who taught art and design to Rolling Stone Keith Richard, will have a posthumous exhibition of her art on display in Bexley.

The Joan Huntley memorial exhibition, with many of the works for sale, goes on show in the Austen Gallery at Hall Place, Bourne Road, Bexley, from September 21 until October 18.

And it will fulfil the ambition of her husband of nearly 50 years, Ralph Huntley.

He said: “The actual process and joy of creating pictures was Joan’s only interest.

“It has been my ambition to hold this exhibition in her memory and allow the work to be seen and enjoyed by others.”

Born into an artistic Eltham family, Mrs Huntley was a teacher of art and graphic design.

Her sight was impaired from a young age and she was almost blind in one eye and only partial sight in the other.

But her output of painting was prolific and she continued to work at her home in Glendale, Swanley, until months before her death in 2007.

Source for complete article: http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/4591609.BEXLEY___SWANLEY__Rolling_Stone_s_art_teacher_has_memorial_exhibition/