I’ve met the most courageous, gracious woman who is a mother, a survivor, and a hero. Five years ago, late in her pregnancy, she lost her sight to a rare disease called uveitis, an inflammation in the eye tissue. She had to choose between medication that might treat the severe inflammation and her unborn child. She chose the latter. Today, while she has lost her physical eyes to this disease, she has gained a spiritual insight that knows no limits. She lives for her son and struggles to carve out a better life for them both.
She talks about her past and her journey. She ran away from home at 16, lived on the streets, sold her body for drugs, and became an addict. She tried to turn her life around, finished high school, started community college and got a fast food job. Then her life suddenly changed. She lost her eyesight when blood vessels burst in her eyes late in her pregnancy. She states matter-of-factly, “Everyone has a journey. This is mine.” She looks at the bright side, counting her blessings, “If I would have never lost my sight, I would still be working at McDonald’s.” After her loss of vision, she earned her GED. She started a street ministry handing out sandwiches to the city’s homeless. She won awards as a case worker helping people with disabilities find rewarding jobs. Today, she is writing a book about her experiences. She raises a five year old child, Ricky, who adores her and acts as her “eyes” in this world.
Though her eyes are prosthetic and can be easily removed, as she showed me, I find that she does not need these organs to be the windows to her soul. Her soul is wide open for all to see, through her smile, her speech, the tilt of her head. She is a treasure to talk to and an inspiration to listen to as she uses her gift of communication to touch the deepest parts of one’s heart.
At work, she hangs up a picture of her son, a son she has never physically seen. As I look at the picture, I see that he looks a lot like my own son and l feel honored to share the same motherly love with this amazing woman. I cannot imagine the daily struggles she has to overcome. I watch her fight to stay positive, upbeat, and always moving forward.
My troubles fit in a thimble compared to what my new friend faces daily. But, her soul shines like a candle in a dark room. The flood of problems that would normally drown someone in grief and self pity only makes her stronger against the current and triumphant in the end.
She wins in the end. Yes, she has many difficulties to overcome. But, she has what so many of us do not. She has found her true self. She has found her strengths, talents, and soul. She has been driven to the end of herself and knows what it is to be lifted up from disaster and hopelessness. She has hope and desire and passion for something bigger than herself. Though she cannot see, she has more foresight than so many of us. She has a vision more important than her physical vision, a vision of the soul.
She is creating a new life for herself and her son. She is singlehandedly breaking the generational cycle of addiction and abuse that she was subjected to as a child. She is teaching her son the true meaning of love through her powerful example. She is teaching a great lesson to everyone she comes in contact with – a hero is someone who sees beyond reality into the impossible and makes it possible. In reality, she is the farthest thing from blind. She sees the world and people for who they really are – people who need a chance and need to be loved.
Amazing!
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