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Tag Archives: Families

  1. Up in the Air: Loving Life as a Blind Aerialist

    October 6, 2021 - By Rachael Storey

    Hi – I’m Rachael, and I’m a blind aerialist and pole dancer. In fact, I’m currently training in pole dancing, aerial trapeze hoop and silks, contortion, chair dance, fire-spinning and breakdance. And I love it! So, how did I get here? I was diagnosed with sporadic exudative vitreoretinopathy at around two years of age. I never had much useful vision in my left eye but had fairly reliable site in my right. It’s a very unique, very unpredictable degenerative condition that caused me to lose the remaining vision in my…

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  2. A Mom, Memes and an Innovative Way to Raise Money for Assistive Tech

    March 10, 2021 - By Jolandi Gevers

    Braille literacy is so important to visually impaired kids and yet it can be prohibitively expensive to get books in braille. This is a real problem for my two bookworms Hannah (10) and Daniel (7). They were born with Leber’s congenital amaurosis and therefore blind from birth. Not having the same access to books as other children is a real frustration for Hannah especially. She now has grand plans to open a Braille bookstore in the nearby mall so that kids and people like her can get access to Braille…

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  3. Do You See What I Feel?

    January 27, 2021 - By Carol Farnsworth

    I am completely blind, but was blessed with many years of some vision to store memories of colors and objects in my world. When I take a walk with my husband, he will tell me about the deer in our backyard. I will walk to the place where the deer stood. I will feel the hoof prints, find the direction that the deer traveled and even how fast the deer was running by measuring the distance between hoof prints. From the information, I bring up a memory of a deer…

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  4. #MyBlindStory 2020: Reflecting on this year in the #BlindNewWorld

    December 30, 2020 - By The BlindNewWorld Team

    What a year, huh? The good news is that, even with everything that’s happening out there in the real world, we have a strong, supportive community to help us keep it together and keep going here in the #BlindNewWorld. As always, we wanted to take an opportunity to reflect on and highlight all of the incredible stories that have been shared with us this year. 2020 brought us personal insight from artists, musicians, athletes, innovators, actors, scientists, content creators, professionals, bright young adults, chefs, rock-star parents – as well as…

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  5. A Bad Blind Moms Holiday Gift Guide

    December 16, 2020 - By Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter and Stacy Cervenka

    Happy holidays, season’s greetings and all the other fa-la-la we hear this time of year. It’s been an interesting year. Between kiddos at home 24/7, working from home, a worldwide pandemic, and – oh, yeah, did we mention kiddos at home 24/7? – some of us may be a bit Grinchy. The Bad Blind Moms have your back. We are bringing you a gift guide to send to relatives, friends and, of course, significant others. With the help from the virtual mom squad, here’s a finely curated gift guide we…

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  6. We’re Bad Blind Moms and We Know It!

    December 2, 2020 - By Stacy Cervenka

    I’m Stacy Cervenka – and I’m a Bad Blind Mom. From the moment I found out I was pregnant with my first child, I’ve pretty much been a hot mess. Between three complicated pregnancies, several years of 2 a.m. feedings, dragging the kids around on public transportation to endless school and community activities – all while working full-time – I don’t think I’ve had a decent night’s sleep in eight years. Also, the fact that my husband and I are both blind has not exactly made the journey more convenient….

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  7. Why Braille Books Matter – for Blind Kids and Sighted Kids

    November 4, 2020 - By Jared Stofflett

    My name is Jared. I was born blind with no useful vision. Today, I am employed full-time as a Senior Software Engineer – a job I couldn’t do if I hadn’t learned braille. I am also married and a father to two young children, both of whom are sighted. Because I can read braille, I am able to read them bedtime stories and pass along to them my love for the written word. My parents and teachers deserve much of the credit for my being braille-literate today. They insisted that…

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  8. Becoming a Bad Blind Mom (and Why it’s a Good Thing)

    October 21, 2020 - By Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter

    When I was 22, my senses narrowed to four; and really, my sense of smell has never been that great, so, it became more like three senses. And crikey, what’s a girl to do? Several infections slammed my body simultaneously. I was expected to die, but as all my independent ladies can attest to, we tend to be survivors. Sitting among family and friends, I became a brave soul and was often eulogized. With raised brows, I said, “Sure,” and sauntered towards my future. The future was unclear, a bit…

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  9. Aniridia, Acceptance and Building the Live Accessible Community

    September 23, 2020 - By Carrie Morales

    As a young, shy girl with a visual impairment, I felt isolated and alone in crowded school hallways. I questioned my worth and was surrounded by self-doubt. There are so many stories of blind people not only succeeding at life, but thriving – yet I felt ostracized, incapable, unaccepted and lost. I grew up with aniridia syndrome alongside my sister, father and grandmother – all of whom also had this hereditary condition. My brother was totally deaf, though fully sighted. My mom was the only one without a disability. I…

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  10. A Digital Content Creator Defined Only by Her Dreams

    July 15, 2020 - By Gabriella Mendonca

    My name is Gabriella Mendonca and I am a digital content creator. A singer. A college student majoring in communications in digital media. A daughter. This is my story – because my disability does not define who I am. I was born with vision, but lost my sight at the age of 18 months due to a tumor on my optic nerve. Losing my vision has never stopped me from achieving my goals and chasing after my dreams. I have always attended mainstream schools instead of the schools created for…

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