VISION BEYOND SIGHT

In a world where sight is often taken for granted, there are extraordinary individuals who have transcended their visual impairments to leave an indelible mark on those around them. Their stories remind us that true vision extends beyond physical sight and that blindness is not necessarily a barrier to achieving a dream. Life as a visually impaired individual is filled with unique challenges, but it may also encompass perseverance, unwavering determination and an example of the indomitable human spirit.

ERIK WEIHENMAYER

“Adversity alone has the unique power to inspire exceptional clarity, purge any vestiges of lethargy, refocus your priorities, hone your character, and unleash your most potent forces.”

(“The Adversity Advantage: Turning Everyday Struggles into Everyday Greatness”)

Erik Weihenmayer was born with Retinoschisis, a condition in which the retina separates into two layers, resulting in poor vision. He lost his sight completely at the age of 13, but this did little to quell his ambition. Erik has spent his whole life overcoming seemingly impossible challenges to become one of the most accomplished adventurers in the world.

In 2001 he was the first and only blind man to reach the summit of Mount Everest. He has made other remarkable ascents, including the Seven Summits, the highest mountain on each of the seven continents, a feat which only 118 others in the world have achieved.

Along with a taste for adventure, Erik is involved in various charities for the visually impaired. He co-founded No Barriers USA, which aims to aid people with various disabilities to live full and rewarding lives. He has also written two books, and his unique life story was made into an award-winning feature film called “Farther than the Eye Can See”.

More recently Erik's speaking career has taken him across the globe, highlighting that you don't have to have perfect sight to have a vision.

JOSEPH MATHEATAU

“I am a barista without sight. I’m proud to be blind. I lost my sight, but I never lost my dreams and goals in life. I came across lots of challenges, but I never gave up and never will. I may not see the rays of the sun, nor the rain drops, but I can feel it on my skin.”

Joseph was about 3 years old when he noticed that he was different from the other children. Although his sight was very poor, he learnt from a young age to use his sense of hearing to compensate. Sadly, by the time his glaucoma was diagnosed, it had progressed to an advanced stage.

His mother encouraged him to make something of his life, saying: “You might not be able to see, but you can still make it in life and making the best cup of tea is a good start.”

In spite of there being no facilities where he lived to accommodate visually impaired children, Joseph was determined to get an education and continued to go to school year after year. He later completed a marketing management course including entrepreneurship, business and sales management.

The same year Innovation for the Blind was looking for a student to be trained as a barista and they saw a determined blind young man with a “million-dollar smile that can light up the world”. He was trained as the first blind barista in South Africa.

"It's never easy to be a blind barista as I rely on my senses, smell, hearing, touching and I visualize to complete my project." After many challenges, burnt fingers and blisters, Joseph became a master of the craft.

MARLA RUNYAN

“I kind of believed that if I worked hard enough, I could overcome anything. There was always this concept that if I just had the right tools and time, I was going to figure anything out and I would be able to overcome it.” (Marla Runyan, Runners World)

Legally blind since childhood, Olympic track and field athlete and marathon runner Marla Runyan never let her vision loss stand in the way of her athletic dreams.

Inspired by the Olympics from a young age, she had no idea she would one day compete in them and become one of the most versatile and well-rounded athletes ever to compete and win at national and world class levels in both the Olympics and the Paralympics.

Marla refused to give up on her dreams or allow her vision loss to affect her as a disability. “When my visual disability was diagnosed, it felt like the expectations around me just fell. No one really expected me to do much. It was like, ‘Marla, just do your best’. This really angered me. My reaction was to push myself even harder, to hold higher expectations for myself than what others held for me, and to prove to others that I had value and that I could excel.”

ISAAC LIDSKY

“I’ve gained vision by losing my sight.”

Isaac was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa at the age of 13. Having lost most of his sight by the age of 25, Isaac writes in his memoir, “Eyes Wide Open” that fear can be more debilitating than vision loss. As his sight eroded, Isaac gained deeper insight into human perception and began to appreciate how fear can be more blinding than the disease that robbed him of his sight. By constraining our focus, anxiety prevents us from seeing all the options available to us and immobilizes us from taking action.

Having learnt to accept his new reality, he counsels readers of his book to follow their own unique paths without worrying about what other people might think.

ALEXANDRA JOY CROCCO

“People are confused when they see I have a guide stick in one hand and a camera in the other.”

Alexandra Joy Crocco is a legally blind photographer who has albinism. Vision and other eye problems are common in this genetic disorder, and she has her share. As well as being legally blind, she has nystagmus, a condition in which her eyes constantly make repetitive uncontrolled movements.

She can’t see the details of a face from even inches away, doesn’t have the best depth perception, yet has won many photography awards and impresses her clients with an uncanny ability to capture that special moment of emotion. Crocco relies on her keen sense of hearing to get cues from the laughter, voices and other sounds of children and families she shoots. She’s engaging, brings props and creates the mood that her ears pick up.

One of her strategies is to have a system of extreme organisation, charged batteries always in the same place in the camera bag, uncharged in another, so she can just reach in without looking. She shoots rapidly, so she has a lot of images to choose from when editing, choosing the best pictures through a large computer screen, magnification and bright light.

Crocco said there have been many challenges generally in life because of her albinism, but she always looks for the way around them, and would like to help others who face similar challenges.

These individuals exemplify how vision, in its broadest sense, is not confined to what we see but what we aspire to achieve. Their stories inspire us to look beyond our limitations and pursue our dreams with unwavering resolve. In their lives, we find the profound truth that with determination, support, and a clear vision, anything is possible.