We all take our lives for granted..Our beautiful bodies - fat or thin, Our eyes,Our sense of smell,our sense of touch,our ears,our brains,.... the simple fact that our bodies are driven by a very complicated machinery that we dont give a damn about. How granted we take our lives until we are deprived of them...
I just finished watching the movie 'At First Sight'. This movie is a true story inspired from the lives of Shirl and Barbara Jennings. I was overcome with emotions at the fact that any man could be so cheerful during his long years of blindness. Be cautious while his sight was restored and smile even as he hears the bad news that his vision is deteriorating again. The way he says 'the horizon is there even though you cant see it'....What an amazing testimony of human strength!!
The true hero is Shirl Jennings from Georgia. He has been blind since the age of 10. After 40 years of darkness,in 1991 he had his sight restored by two operations , becoming only one of a handful of people blind since childhood having their sight restored. He suffered from agnosia, an inability to process what he was seeing. It took him quite some time to learn to see at the age of 40. He could relate to things and identify them only through touch. He couldnt understand the concept of 3 dimensions, distance, height,objects and many of the little things we never think about!
Unfortunately, he virtually lost his sight when he contracted pnemonia in 1992.It returned to some degree as he recovered, but never near the acuity immediately following the operations. Jennings' illness left him disabled and he lost his cherished job as a masseur at the YMCA.
In 1996, despite his failing sight, Jennings began taking painting lessons. One of his paintings, an abstract work dominated by his favorite color, blue, is featured in "At First Sight.
Jennings has no regrets about gaining his sight for brief period, despite the upheaval in his life. "I appreciate all the sight I got now," he said, smiling. "I can see the world, instead of just imagining it."
His story was depicted in the 1999 film "At First Sight" starring Val Kilmer and Mira Sorvino. This great man died Oct. 26 in Atlanta of obstructive pulmonary disease at age 63.
Read http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/daily/01-99/01-22-99/b01ae036.htm for a full reporting by Lillian Lee Kim.
This post and story is an old one..But its never too late to experience the power of the human spirit and remind us that we have not yet discovered 10% of our strength!
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