Story by Liza Shevchuk and Alin Torosian, Illustration by Beatriz Ortiz.
With an introduction by Dr. Marlena Chu, Chief of Low Vision Services.
Since 2015 I have had the fortunate position of Chief of Low Vision Services here at the Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science. During that time I have been a humble witness to the empathetic and enthusiastic passion that our students, faculty and staff bring to the clinic and patient care on a daily basis. I recognize that “low vision” is a specialty that may bring rise to feelings of uncertainty and trepidation; however, for many others the clinic is an inclusive, joyful, and safe space. It truly represents the ultimate highs and ultimate lows of optometry—one might say an example of bracketing! I often state that the low vision specialty is the reason why many of us chose optometry as a career—it is grounded in expertise in ophthalmic optics, the thrill of visual perception, and the complexities of ocular disease all interwoven with compassionate patient care. Like these low vision s/heroes, I am inspired daily by courageous patients, and I hope this article inspires you to reach for your own love vision greatness.
— Marlena Chu
Jean-Dominique Bauby
Author, b. 1953 – d. 1997
After suffering a devastating stroke at the age of 43, Jean-Dominique Bauby, editor of Elle magazine, woke from a coma to discover that the only remaining part of his body that properly functioned was his left eye. He soon learned that he could express himself in great detail by blinking his eye to select letters (and ultimately form words) from a frequency-ordered alphabet that was recited to him by an assistant. Using this method—and 200,000 blinks—he dictated his memoir, which was published two days before he died. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly became an international best-seller with sales in the millions. A film version of his book won Golden Globe Awards for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Director, as well as four Academy Award nominations. John the Blind King of Bohemia, b. 1296 – d. 1346 Allied with King Philip VI of France during the 100 years war against England, John the Blind died while fighting in the Battle of Crécy at age 50. Incredibly, at the time of the battle, he was nearly blind, having lost his eyesight ten years earlier from what was reported as ophthalmia. Informed that the battle was lost, his officers pleaded with him to retreat to safety. Ignoring their protests, he said, “Far be it that the King of Bohemia should run away. Instead, take me to the place where the noise of the battle is the loudest.” And with that he mounted his horse, and directed by his officers, charged into the fray.
Louis Braille
Inventor of the braille system, b. 1809 – d. 1852
At the National Institute for Blind Youth in Paris, Louis, an excellent and curious student, was devastated that the school’s library only had three books. The books that he and his classmates read contained pages of raised lettering, which the students traced with their fingers. Reading this way required students to memorize letter shapes, and was excruciatingly slow. It was also a prohibitively expensive way to produce books, making it difficult for the school to afford more than three. When a French army officer visited the school to demonstrate a communication method he called, “night writing,” Louis—who was 15 at the time—immediately recognized its potential. Originally designed so that soldiers could communicate on the battlefield without drawing the attention of the enemy, the system used a series of raised dots punched into paper to represent sounds. Over the next few years, Louis worked to improve the system so that each dot represented a letter of the alphabet— instead of a sound—ultimately arriving at the six dot per cell system that is in use today. Louis, who later became a professor at the institute, said of his invention, “Access to communication in the widest sense is access to knowledge, and that is vitally important for us if we [the blind] are not to go on being despised or patronized by condescending sighted people. We do not need pity, nor do we need to be reminded we are vulnerable. We must be treated as equals—and communication is the way this can be brought about.”
Ray Charles
Musician, b. 1930 – d. 2004
Ray Charles reshaped the sound of American music. A master of innovation, he blended voice, gospel, jazz, and blues to craft a sound that was all his own. He topped the charts with songs such as “Georgia on My Mind,” “What’d I Say,” and “Hit the Road Jack.” He was often referred to as “The Genius,” and the “Father of Soul,” but to friends and fellow musicians, he was “Brother Ray.” He won 18 Grammy’s, received the Grammy’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and was one of the inaugural inductees at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Charles lost his sight by age seven, likely due to glaucoma. Soon after, Charles began attending the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, where his talent was recognized and encouraged. There, he learned to play classical piano, saxophone, organ, trumpet, clarinet, and how to read music in braille and arrange music—setting him on a path for future successes.
Judi Dench
Actress, b. 1934
Dame Judith Dench has captivated audiences with her commanding presence on stage and screen for over seven decades. She has won an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards, four British Academy Television Awards, six British Academy Film Awards, and seven Olivier Awards. Dench won the Oscar for her performance as Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love, but is perhaps best known as James Bond’s boss “M”—a role she played in eight James Bond films, from GoldenEye (1995) to Skyfall (2012). Diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration in 2012, she reads scripts with the help of assistive technology. In 2019 she told Women & Home, “On my scripts my font is point-size 22, so you can imagine… if we’re doing a sonnet of 14 lines, all the others will have one page and I’ll have 14! It’s ridiculous, it’s a farce, but I’m not going to give in.”
Tommy Edison
Film Critic, b. 1963
In a profile on film critic Tommy Edison, who was born with an undeveloped optic nerve, The Guardian suggests, “the next time you’re watching a big budget action movie —a superhero spectacle, perhaps, try this out. When a chaotic special effects-stuffed scene is just about to click into top gear, close your eyes. Keep them closed. And only open them only once the scene is over. Then ask yourself: what happened?” Providing an alternative approach to film criticism, Edison—also known as “The Blind Film Critic”—has become a YouTube sensation by describing how visually impaired movie-goers experience films. His critiques are watched by millions of people, who come for his insights and his humor. His motto: “No spoilers. I don’t even know what happened.”
James Holman
The Blind Traveler, b. 1786 – d. 1857
Known as the Blind Traveler, James Holman served in the British Navy for twelve years before an illness left him blind and without a career at age 25. Determined to continue his adventures, he set off on a series of daring solo journeys—often on foot or public transport—that took him across Europe, and the world. In 1832 he became the first blind person to circumnavigate the globe. Holman wrote five books about his travels, two of which became best-sellers and helped to fund his trips. Each year, the San Francisco LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired awards the Holman Prize (up to $25,000) “to support the emerging adventurousness and can-do spirit of blind and low vision people worldwide.”
Lachi
Musician, b. 1983
Lachi is an award-winning recording artist and electronic dance music performer who has embraced her visual impairment to break barriers in the music industry. Diagnosed with coloboma of the retinae, which left her legally blind, Lachi initially kept her vision loss private, fearing it would hold her back. But once she embraced her identity and “came out” as blind, her career flourished, and she became a powerful voice for the disabled community. From performing at major venues, collaborating with artists such as Snoop Dog and Cardi B, to advocating for more inclusivity in entertainment—she helped found RAMP (Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities)—Lachi is changing perceptions within the music industry. She told Forbes magazine, “I wanted to make it part of my brand and I want other female musicians that are blind, or just anyone who has a disability that’s trying to be an artist or entertainer, to have somebody to look at and say, ‘Wow, she’s doing it. I want to be like that when I grow up.’”
Michael May
Entrepreneur & Athlete, b. 1953
Blinded at age three by a chemical explosion, Mike May has defied expectations his entire life. He set a world record for the fastest time clocked by a blind skier (65 mph), joined the CIA, and founded a successful company—the Sendero Group—that produced GPS-based turn-by-turn wayfinding systems for unsighted people. In an interview, the American Foundation for the Blind referred to May as, “the father of GPS Technology for blind persons.” At age 47, he underwent an experimental corneal stem cell transplant surgery, performed by Dr. Daniel Goodman. The results were mixed. A study done three years after the procedure found that he “could see color, motion and simple two-dimensional shapes, but was incapable of more complex visual processing.” But May says, “Somebody can toss me a ball and I can run and catch it in the air. Which to me is like magic.” His life story is told in the best-selling book, Crashing Through, by Robert Kurson, which “explores what it means to see—and to truly live.”
John Milton
Poet, b. 1608 – d. 1674
One of the most revered poets in history, John Milton—who was considered by some to be a dangerous radical—wrote during a time of intense political and social upheaval in 17th century England. He took on issues such as freedom of the press, freedom of speech, censorship, the state-dominated church, and the legality and morality of divorce. His published works are seen as an important catalyst for ushering in a change in public opinion regarding these issues. Milton’s most famous poem, “Paradise Lost,” was written after he had become totally blind. There is some dispute about the cause of his vision loss, but most scholars believe retinal detachment or glaucoma was the cause. His sonnet, “When I Consider How My Light is Spent,” is an expression of the practical and spiritual challenges he faced as he grappled with how to best live his life as a person without physical sight.
Painter, b. 1840 – d. 1926
Monet, a founder of the French impressionist movement, created paintings of Parisian landscapes—and of his garden and water little pond in Giverny—that are adored throughout the world. He was diagnosed with a form of age-related cataracts (nuclear sclerosis) in 1912, but initially refused to undergo cataract surgery, declaring, “I prefer to make the most of my poor sight, and even give up painting if necessary, but at least be able to see a little of these things that I love.” Over time, his sense of color and his ability to see critical detail was reduced. His paintings during this period—such as The Japanese Footbridge—took on a more muted, brown hue devoid of the vibrant use of color found in his earlier work. Growing despondent and less productive, Monet complained that, “colours no longer had the same intensity for me,” and that “reds had begun to look muddy…my painting was getting more and more darkened.” Eventually, Monet had cataract surgery, and though not wholly satisfied with the results, returned to painting.
—Georgia O’Keeffe”
Painter, b. 1887 – d. 1986
O’Keeffe’s painting, Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1, sold for over $44 million in 2014. At the time it was the most paid for any painting by a female artist. Exploring abstract shapes found in nature—especially in the American Southwest—her favorite subjects included landscapes, flowers, animal skulls, and sometimes skyscrapers. Often working in a series format that could last years, her purpose, she said, was “to create an equivalent for what I felt about what I was looking at—not copy it.” In 1977 O’Keeffe received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor awarded to civilians. In the middle 1960s her sight began to fail due to macular degeneration. As her condition worsened, she used her peripheral vision, shifted her focus from oil painting to working with charcoal and pencil, and enlisted the help of assistants to continue working, declaring at age 90 that, “I can see what I want to paint. The thing that makes you want to create is still there.”
David Paterson
Former Governor of New York, b. 1954
David Paterson is the first legally blind governor of New York. In an impressive list of firsts, he is also the state’s first Black governor, and is the youngest person to be elected to New York’s state senate, at age 31. Known for an inclusive approach to politics, he reached across party lines to bring people together, helping to steer his state through a time of financial crisis. As an infant, an infection spread to his optic nerve, causing loss of vision in his left eye and limited sight in his right eye. In an interview with Columbia University— where he earned an undergraduate degree in 1977—he said of his governorship, “I have had this desire my whole life to prove people wrong, to show them I could do things that they didn’t think I could do,” he said. “This is just another.”
Marla Runyan
Olympic Athlete, b. 1969
Marla Runyan, a world class track & field athlete and marathon runner, developed Stargardts Disease at age nine—a condition that left her legally blind. She was able to see shapes and shadows, which allowed her to participate in sports, but also presented challenges when it came to race strategy. “Your pacing is all based on knowing how far you’ve gone and how far you have left to go. How do you know when to put on your kick if you don’t know if you have one or two laps to go? It makes a huge difference in how you run the race,” she told Runner’s World Magazine. She excelled at the highest level of her sport, winning a gold medal in the 1500 at the 1999 Pan American Games. At the Sydney Olympics in 2000 she became the first legally blind athlete to qualify for the US Olympic team in the 1500 meter event, where she placed 8th. In 2002 she finished 4th in the New York City Marathon, took 5th at the Boston Marathon in 2003, and won the Twin Cities Marathon in 2006, capping a remarkable career.
Erik Weihenmayer
Mountaineer, b. 1968
“I was afraid that I wasn’t going to be able to participate in life,” Erik Weihenmayer thought when he lost his sight at 14 due to retinoschisis. Fast forward 33 years to May 25, 2001 when Weihenmayer—facing difficulties that other mountaineers don’t have to think about—became the first legally blind person to summit Mt. Everest. This was no media stunt; Weihenmayer is an accomplished climber and athlete. Taking up rock climbing at age 16, he discovered an innate talent for finding holds in the rock for his hands and feet. By 2008 he had joined an elite group of only 150 mountaineers in the world to have reached the highest point on each continent, the so-called “Seven Summits.”
Stevie Wonder
Musician, b. 1950
Known for massive hits like “Superstition” and “I Just Called to Say I Love You,” Stevie Wonder is one of the most iconic musicians of all time. His career spans decades and has earned him 25 Grammy Awards. A child prodigy who signed with a Motown label at 11, his talent on the piano and harmonica propelled him to worldwide fame, and sales of over 100 million records. Being born six weeks premature, and spending time in the oxygen-rich environment of an incubator, were contributing factors to development of retinopathy of prematurity, which led to his vision loss. Asked if being blind had an impact on his music, he told the New York Times that “it’s played a part in that I’m able to use my imagination to go places, to write words about things I’ve heard people talk about. In music and in being blind, I’m able to associate what people say with what’s inside me.”