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.

Sharron “Kay” Thornton, from the southern US state of Mississippi, lost her sight in 2000 when she came down with a case of Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a rare disease that scarred her cornea, according to the University of Miami’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute.

For patients whose bodies reject a transplanted or artificial cornea, this procedure “implants the patient’s tooth in the eye to anchor a prosthetic lens and restore vision,” said Thornton’s surgeon Victor Perez.

In the procedure — which was pioneered in Italy but was a first in the United States — the medical team extracted Thornton’s canine or “eyetooth” and surrounding bone, shaved and sculpted it, and drilled a hole into it to insert an optical cylinder lens.

“We take sight for granted, not realizing that it can be lost at any moment,” the grateful patient said. “This truly is a miracle.”

She said people should imagine what it is like “if you could keep your eyes closed just for one week… it’s amazing what you see when you open your eyes again.”

The tooth and the lens were implanted under the patient’s skin in the cheek or shoulder for two months so they could bond, then they were carefully implanted in the center of the eye after a series of procedures to prepare the socket.

“A hole is made in the mucosa for the prosthetic lens, which protrudes slightly from the eye and enables light to re-enter the eye allowing the patient to see once again,” read an Eye Institute statement.

Following a series of operations, medical personnel removed the bandages from Thornton’s eyes two weeks ago.

She was able to recognize objects and faces a few hours later, and two weeks later she was able to read newspapers, the Eye Institute said.

“I’m looking forward to seeing my seven youngest grandchildren for the first time,” said Thornton.

Through the work of (the) team, patients in the United States now have access to this complex surgical technique, which has been available only in a limited number of centers in Europe and Asia,” said Eduardo Alfonso, chairman of Bascom Palmer Eye Institute.

Source for complete article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090917/ts_alt_afp/healthresearchuseye

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/

Eight years ago, a nation watched as hundreds of New York’s bravest made the ultimate sacrifice to help those in need.

Since then, a group of students at one Villa Park middle school has helped raise money each year on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks for their local fire department, while at the same time learning about the men and women that would come to the rescue in the event of a fire.

Students in the blind and visually impaired program at Albright Middle School in Villa Park spent part of their time in summer school making everything and anything patriotic, including American flag pillows, patriotic bracelets, and red, white and blue fans to sell to students, faculty and staff during two lunch periods today.

The school is part of Salt Creek School District 48, where the visually impaired program consists of more than 50 students. About 15 of the students were in the summer school program, and almost all of them participated in helping make the crafts.

Cindy Rukavina, a teacher in the Albright program, said the students have been doing crafts each summer since 2002, and have made nearly 50 different crafts to sell this year. Rukavina said the crafts not only assist with developing skills, but also help the students learn about what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, as well as what firefighters do for the community.

“It’s our way to honor our local firemen who put their lives on the line every day,” Rukavina said. “They would give up their own life to help our own kids, especially the vision-impaired kids who need extra help. … We feel it’s our duty to do something nice for them.”

Later this month, Villa Park firefighters will come to Albright to pick up the money raised by the craft sale. Last year, the sale raised more than $180. Villa Park firefighter/paramedic Matt Sauter said the department uses the money to purchase hats, stickers, and other items to give to children during speeches about fire prevention.

“One of the best fire prevention techniques in the fire service is giving away handouts and educating kids and parents,” Sauter said. “Giving them the opportunity to know that someone will be there and to trust us if we yell to follow us in the event of a fire is important. … It’s good to reassure them we’re going to take care of them if we’re needed.”

Source for complete article: http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/villapark/news/x1170598697/Students-lend-firefighters-helping-hand

CHICAGO—An antibiotic widely used in Africa to treat eyesight-robbing infections seems to help prevent Ethiopian children from dying of other diseases. A study in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association suggests an unintended benefit from efforts to wipe out trachoma, the world’s leading preventable cause of blindness.

The World Health Organization has set 2020 as the target for eliminating trachoma. The United States has been free of the disease since the 1970s, but it persists in 48 countries. In Ethiopia, a hotbed, 40 percent of children under 10 show signs of active trachoma.

A grandfather has described how a massive stroke “miraculously” cured his failing sight, but cost him his ability to speak French.

Malcolm Darby, 70, of Oakham, Rutland, had worn glasses since measles damaged his sight at the age of two. But after waking from surgery to remove a blood clot following a stroke last year, he said he found he had near-perfect vision. Experts say the side-effects of the stroke are “unusual”.

The stroke left Mr Darby paralysed and unable to speak. But when a nurse walked past he realised he could read the words on a newspaper under her arm, which he would have been unable to do without one of six pairs of glasses beforehand.

He said: “I realised I could watch television without my glasses. Now I only use one pair of reading glasses if I’m trying to read and it’s dark.”

Mr Darby is now able to talk again and walks four miles a day.

He said: “I’m on the mend now so every cloud has a silver lining, especially with getting my sight back.

“But before the stroke I could speak French and now I just can’t get a word of it out.”

Joanne Murphy, research liaison officer at the Stroke Association, said: “The effects of a stroke will depend on what part of the brain has been injured.

“We often hear about stroke survivors who have double vision or lose half of their field of vision.

“But it is unusual to hear of someone whose vision has got better following a stroke.

“However, we do hear about survivors who have developed new skills after their stroke.”

Source for complete article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/leicestershire/8234784.stm

“Dai, I want to visit your office,” she said over the phone. “Could you please meet me at Kathmandu Mall?”

Leaving my office at Sundhara, I found her on the steps to the mall. “Let’s go,” I said. She recognized my voice and greeted me humbly, “Oh, you’ve arrived!”

She picked up her stick and slung her white handbag over her shoulder. Holding her left arm, I brought her to my office.

I met Chandra Rekha Shrestha, a visually impaired girl, en route to Shanti Nagar several months ago. She was walking down the road with her white stick, and I saw she was about to walk into a muddy pothole. Had she continued, she might have tripped and fallen, or at least muddied her dress.

Not wishing this to be her fate, I stopped my motorbike and called out, “There´s a pothole in front of you, Bahini. If it’s all right with you, I’ll take you to your place.”

She happily accepted. I took her plastic bag so she could climb on my motorbike, and we drove to her destination. Having just met, we spoke briefly about her profession and studies, and I discovered she was on her way to Tinkune for a teacher´s training program.
Chandra had called me a couple of times since our chance encounter. However, I had been unable to meet her due to my busy schedules.

Finally, reuniting at the Kathmandu Mall, she said, “If you hadn’t given me your business card, I wouldn’t have called you.”

We talked about a range of issues, and I came to discover that Chandra possessed a deep and diverse knowledge which would challenge that of many physically fit people.

The visually-impaired are at unavoidable disadvantages when it comes to learning. It is due to the lack of reading materials published in Braille. Unfortunately for Chandra, her love of study has always been hampered by the inaccessibility of study materials. Computer-based listening materials are available for the visually impaired, but this is a luxury for her.

Having come from Dhulikhel, one of Kathmandu’s neighboring towns, Chandra passed her School Leaving Certificate examinations in 1992. Since then, she has completed further studies, including a computer course and self-living training, in India. Sadly, due to lack of time and resources, Chandra was unable to continue her education to Master´s level.

Although she has a mother and three brothers and sisters-in-law in her family, Chandra has been living on her own for the past year. She cooks for herself and washes her own clothes while managing to teach every morning at Anam Nagar’s Rudramati Primary School. As a health and physical teacher, she teaches the schoolchildren exercises which they enjoy a great deal.

Kathmandu is not a friendly city for the visually-impaired or other physically-challenged persons. Thousands of motorbikes and cars compete on the road, yet very few stop to assist those with disabilities reach their destinations. I can only imagine how difficult these people’s lives must be when even able-bodied people find themselves lost in this merciless city.

So how does Chandra cope? Through imagination and memory. While doing her household chores, she tries to remember people, places, and things, and their orientation to her world in order to manage her daily life. She is a courageous and confident person, telling me that she made the decision to live alone after her brothers said they would take turns looking after her each month. Chandra felt this would hurt her self-esteem and would prefer to be independent.

Chandra’s main source of information is through her FM radio, learning about various issues as they are broadcast. Inspired by the power of radio, she took training to be a radio anchor, and thus hopes to be a radio program presenter one day. She would also like to own listening books to increase her knowledge, even though these are rarely available in Kathmandu.

Chandra lost her eyesight as a baby and had to learn how to survive at an early age. Although her entire world is shrouded in darkness, she keeps the light in her home switched on for the sake of others. “I think I shouldn’t keep my home in darkness, so I switch on the light.”

We talked for a long time about her life and aspirations. When she mentioned her desire for further studies, I suggested a college near her home.

Although Chandra is a great lover of dramas and her home is near the Gurukul Theater, she has never had the chance to visit there. She asked if I would take her to the theater one day, and I have promised to do so.

After visiting my office, we went to a restaurant. She loved the momos and coffee, eating each momo gently with a fork and sipping her coffee, explaining, “Noble people drink coffee this way.” I smiled at her sense of humor.

I described the scene around us as we set off on my motorbike to her home. This made her happy, remembering the Bollywood movie “Anuraag”. I have not yet had the chance to see this film, but I will watch it one day.

The next time I saw Chandra, I was accompanied by my photojournalist colleague Chandra Shekhar Karki. I wanted to interview this inspirational woman. She was happy, but said, “I don´t want our relationship to be one of a journalist and a subject to write about, but a sentimental relationship.”

Thank you, Chandra Rekha. You have reminded me of what truly matter in life but are mostly lacking in our city. Sometimes we journalists also forget the sentiments of the very people we write about.

Source for complete article: http://theweek.myrepublica.com/details.php?news_id=8903

New technology speaks to drivers with cues for driving, making it possible for the visually impaired to get behind the wheel of a car one day, reports Daniel Sieberg.