Ability Stories: Discussing the Successes, Challenges and Stories of People with Disabilities

In 2013, at the age of 50, Maria noticed a blurry spot in her eyes. After working with several doctors, she found out she had a rare genetic blindness. This is her story of the last four years living what she calls, “my unexpected life”.

Topics discussed in part 2:

• Maria’s motivation for writing a blog.
• Some of the entries that are  meaningful to Maria.
• Maria’s blog post titled, “To the Child who has a Blind Parent”, including Maria’s thoughts about the post, reactions to her post, and some of the stories behind what she wrote.

The podcast ends with Maria’s thoughts on blindness and what she has learned through living her “unexpected life”.

In 2013, at the age of 50, Maria noticed a blurry spot in her eyes. After working with several doctors, she found out she had a rare genetic blindness. This is her story of the last four years living what she calls, “my unexpected life”. 

Topics discussed in part 1 include the following:

• Her experience with disability before she lost her sight.
• How Maria lost her sight.
• How Maria worked through her grief, including her experience with therapy and blindness training.
• How Maria has continued to teach fitness.

My guest is Jamie Crane-Mauzy. Jamie tells her story of getting a traumatic brain injury in a skiing accident. She talks about her recovery and how it has affected her life.

Link to Jamy’s foundation: www.firstfamilyflight.org

Everette talks about his decision to run for president of the NFB of Utah. He talks about what he likes and doesn’t like about being president. He answers questions about the NFB’s involvement with descriptive audio, accessible pedestrian signals and driverless cars. He shares his thoughts on blindness.

Everette talks about his family history of blindness. He talks about adjusting to his disability. He tells how his experience working for Blockbuster led him to the National Federation of the Blind.

At the age of 17, John lost his sight do to early macular degeneration. This is his story of how he went from worry and despair to optimism and the certain knowledge that he can live a happy life as a man with a disability. 

Topics discussed include the following:

• How John felt when he lost  his sigh
• How John learned to function as a blind person with an optimistic outlook on life
• John’s journey to obtaining his Ph.D. in literature
• John’s hopes for the future of people who are blind in Kenya
• His thoughts on blindness and what he has learned from his journey

Blind from birth, Jan grew up with high parental expectations, a determination to succeed, and compassion for others. This is her story.

Topics discussed include the following: - Jan’s early years and her education - Her involvement in the disability civil rights movement - Her marriage to Charlie and Charlie’s death - Her thoughts about her life and a couple of great stories that will make anyone who has a less than perfect day with a service dog feel much better

One of my dream interviews is to talk with my friend Linda about her life, and her 20 year tenure as one of only three blind people who have ever sung in the world famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Unfortunately, Linda passed away in 2010 from cancer. However, Linda gave a speech in 2005 to the American Council of the Blind. Her presentation was called A Song in My Heart. I share it on Ability Stories Podcast as one of the best speeches on disability I have ever heard! After you listen to the speech, I think you will understand  why. Linda is someone who lived a successful life as a woman with a disability and achieved her dream of successful participation in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.. Stick around for the end of the podcast to hear a song from a Christmas CD Linda made with her friends.

Many of you will know Jonathan from his time with ACB Radio, his work with Humanware, and his work with Freedom Scientific, including hosting FS Podcast. Jonathan has been a good friend and an invaluable mentor to me as I have started Ability Stories. This is his story. Topics discussed in part 2 include: Why Jonathan decided to be so open about his atheism, Jonathan’s faith crises, his reasons for being an atheist, and his thoughts on blindness

Many of you will know Jonathan from his time with ACB Radio, his work with Humanware, and his work with Freedom Scientific, including hosting FS Podcast. Jonathan has been a good friend and an invaluable mentor to me as I have started Ability Stories. This is his story. Topics discussed in part 1:

Jonathan”s early years (including his time at the school for the blind), his career in radio, working in blindness services, and his work in assistive technology.