Read Gerri's Leaf Story
ON THE PATH...
thoughts along the way
I can see clearly now, the rain is gone, I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind It’s gonna be a bright, bright sun shiny day.
Jimmy Cliff
The other morning I was talking to my daughter, Theresa, on the phone. She told me of a rare image that had surfaced on the internet. It was a photograph taken of Helen Keller when she was eight-years-old with her teacher Anne Sullivan. They are holding hands and Helen has a little doll in her lap. Anne had given Helen a doll the first time she saw her. This is a photograph at Cape Cod where Helen’s family had gone in the summer of 1888. Wow, what a rare find. Theresa told me that Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller were two of her favorite heroes. She loved what they were able to accomplish together. Theresa recalled how one of her dreams had come true while she was living in Florida. She had answered an ad for a job as an intervener. An intervener is one who interprets for those who are deaf and blind. She got the job. David was blind and deaf from birth. Theresa met him when he was four years old. He had no training in sign language thus no way to connect with others. Theresa taught him to ask for what he wanted by using hand-over-hand movements. She taught him the alphabet by finger spelling into the palm of his hand. The first sign he learned was “eat.” He was always frightened, but Theresa helped him through his fears. She put the letter T in his hand with her fingers whenever she arrived. Then he knew she was there and he was safe and it helped him learn to trust and not be afraid. She helped him experience his world, gently and compassionately guiding him through activities like swinging and holding him as he floated in the water. Sometimes when they weren’t doing anything but being together, he would break out into laughter. She said, “I wonder if he was laughing with the angels?” I can see, and that is why I can be happy in what you call the dark, but which to me is golden. I can see a God-made world, not a man-made world. Helen Keller I told her of a TV special I had just seen that really touched my heart. It was about two young, blind men, Daniel Kish and Ben Underwood. Daniel is in his 40s and Ben is in his mid-teens. Daniel lost his sight at the age of one. Ben lost his sight at the age of three. It began with Ben’s right eye which was consumed with cancer. The hospital used chemo and radiation to try to save the left eye but it was also consumed by cancer. At one point his mother told him it was very serious and he could possibly die. Ben said, “Mom, if it happens, I’m ready. But you have to promise to meet me in heaven.” When he awoke from his surgery he said, “Mom, I can’t see anymore, I can’t see anymore!” After praying and asking God for guidance, his mother, Aquanetta, told him, “Ben, YES YOU CAN SEE!” as she took his little hands and put them on her face. “See me, you can see me with your hands.” Then she put her hand to his nose and said, “See me, you can see me with your nose.” Then she said, “Hear me, you can see me with your ears. You have your hands, your nose and your ears.” Aquanetta never told him he couldn’t see. She always affirmed, “Your name is Benjamin, you can do anything!” Ben has a special gift although he is totally blind. Through the use of echolocation he is able to see. By making a clicking sound with his tongue, Ben can sense where objects around him are located and he is able to navigate in his world. Daniel also has a special gift. He clatters with his mouth to get the sense of what is surrounding him, to measure the distance of trees and to understand whether he is surrounded by buildings or an open space. Only bats and dolphins have the same ability. Daniel says “Echolocation is a technique that gives an opportunity to imagine mentally the surrounding space with the aid of sound and to map it, thus replacing eyesight while hearing.” This method is creating incredible opportunities for the blind to live independently so they won’t have to rely on other people. Ben and Daniel have appeared on many talk shows around the world as well as Oprah and Ellen. They tell their story, of how independent they are using this clicking method to discern their environment and help them to navigate where they are going. Ben is like any other teenager. He hangs out with his friends, rides his bike, climbs trees, plays video games, takes regular classes at school, roller blades and has even achieved a yellow belt in karate. Ben has always claimed, “I’m not blind... I just can’t see.” How many people with sight and hearing are walking around essentially deaf and blind because they are not open to listening or to seeing what is really happening in their lives? I can see clearly now the rain is gone I can see all obstacles in my way, Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind, It’s gonna be a bright, bright sun shiny day For information on echolocation, go to www.worldaccessfortheblind.org.
The other morning I was talking to my daughter, Theresa, on the phone. She told me of a rare image that had surfaced on the internet. It was a photograph taken of Helen Keller when she was eight-years-old with her teacher Anne Sullivan. They are holding hands and Helen has a little doll in her lap. Anne had given Helen a doll the first time she saw her. This is a photograph at Cape Cod where Helen’s family had gone in the summer of 1888. Wow, what a rare find. Theresa told me that Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller were two of her favorite heroes. She loved what they were able to accomplish together.
Theresa recalled how one of her dreams had come true while she was living in Florida. She had answered an ad for a job as an intervener. An intervener is one who interprets for those who are deaf and blind. She got the job.
David was blind and deaf from birth. Theresa met him when he was four years old. He had no training in sign language thus no way to connect with others. Theresa taught him to ask for what he wanted by using hand-over-hand movements. She taught him the alphabet by finger spelling into the palm of his hand. The first sign he learned was “eat.” He was always frightened, but Theresa helped him through his fears. She put the letter T in his hand with her fingers whenever she arrived. Then he knew she was there and he was safe and it helped him learn to trust and not be afraid. She helped him experience his world, gently and compassionately guiding him through activities like swinging and holding him as he floated in the water. Sometimes when they weren’t doing anything but being together, he would break out into laughter. She said, “I wonder if he was laughing with the angels?”
I can see, and that is why I can be happy in what you call the dark, but which to me is golden. I can see a God-made world, not a man-made world. Helen Keller
I told her of a TV special I had just seen that really touched my heart. It was about two young, blind men, Daniel Kish and Ben Underwood. Daniel is in his 40s and Ben is in his mid-teens. Daniel lost his sight at the age of one. Ben lost his sight at the age of three. It began with Ben’s right eye which was consumed with cancer. The hospital used chemo and radiation to try to save the left eye but it was also consumed by cancer. At one point his mother told him it was very serious and he could possibly die. Ben said, “Mom, if it happens, I’m ready. But you have to promise to meet me in heaven.” When he awoke from his surgery he said, “Mom, I can’t see anymore, I can’t see anymore!” After praying and asking God for guidance, his mother, Aquanetta, told him, “Ben, YES YOU CAN SEE!” as she took his little hands and put them on her face. “See me, you can see me with your hands.” Then she put her hand to his nose and said, “See me, you can see me with your nose.” Then she said, “Hear me, you can see me with your ears. You have your hands, your nose and your ears.” Aquanetta never told him he couldn’t see. She always affirmed, “Your name is Benjamin, you can do anything!”
Ben has a special gift although he is totally blind. Through the use of echolocation he is able to see. By making a clicking sound with his tongue, Ben can sense where objects around him are located and he is able to navigate in his world.
Daniel also has a special gift. He clatters with his mouth to get the sense of what is surrounding him, to measure the distance of trees and to understand whether he is surrounded by buildings or an open space. Only bats and dolphins have the same ability.
Daniel says “Echolocation is a technique that gives an opportunity to imagine mentally the surrounding space with the aid of sound and to map it, thus replacing eyesight while hearing.”
This method is creating incredible opportunities for the blind to live independently so they won’t have to rely on other people.
Ben and Daniel have appeared on many talk shows around the world as well as Oprah and Ellen. They tell their story, of how independent they are using this clicking method to discern their environment and help them to navigate where they are going.
Ben is like any other teenager. He hangs out with his friends, rides his bike, climbs trees, plays video games, takes regular classes at school, roller blades and has even achieved a yellow belt in karate. Ben has always claimed, “I’m not blind... I just can’t see.”
How many people with sight and hearing are walking around essentially deaf and blind because they are not open to listening or to seeing what is really happening in their lives?
I can see clearly now the rain is gone I can see all obstacles in my way, Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind, It’s gonna be a bright, bright sun shiny day
For information on echolocation, go to www.worldaccessfortheblind.org.
Gerri Magee is director of advertising and public relations and assistant to the editor of phenomeNEWS. She continues to share her thoughts “On The Path” in this column. She can be reached at gerri@phenomenews.com.
