[nfb-talk] Utah Woman is 'Blind No More'

Tue Feb 13 21:40:19 CST 2007

I think I'd use it full-time most likely.  So um, this woman never moved
about before?  I thought it was her eyes that didn't work.  Apparently
they also rebuilt her legs.  Oh well.

On Tue, Feb 13, 2007 at 10:18:09AM -0600, Alan Wheeler wrote:
> Boy, wouldn't it be nice if JAWS *DID* have a sarcasm mode. LOL!
> 
>  
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Aaron Cannon
> Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 9:10 AM
> To: NFB Talk Mailing List
> Subject: [nfb-talk] Utah Woman is 'Blind No More'
> 
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> Oh boy... here we go.  Another helpless soul has managed to throw off the
> shackles of darkness and doom.  (In case you missed it, press insert control
> shift s to put Jaws into sarcasm mode, and reread the previous sentence.)
> 
> 
> http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=888609
> 
> Utah Woman is 'Blind No More'
> February 12th, 2007 @ 10:00pm
> 
> Ed Yeates Reporting
> 
> A 35-year-old woman who was born blind can see tonight, thanks to a
> remarkable surgery performed in Utah.
> 
> Though Kristen O'Neil had been told it couldn't be done, she now is blind no
> more. Ed Yeates shows us more in tonight's special report.
> 
> Kristen O'Neil's blindness would have looked something like this: Even in
> full light, a person in front of her would appear as a moving sheet of
> nothing.
> 
> 
> Ophthalmologist Dr. Alan Crandall describes it this way:
> 
> Alan Crandall, M.D., Ophthalmologist: "Just one sheet. No distinguishing
> factors. [She] couldn't tell where your coat ended, your tie started, none
> of it.
> It would all be gone."
> 
> But at the State Health Department cafeteria where she works with her
> husband, who is also blind, Kristen now moves about. She is no longer blind!
> 
> "I was told by doctors all my life that they couldn't fix it."
> 
> Fix what? Kristen was born with extremely small eyes. A section of her iris
> was missing, and what was there was dislocated, so light couldn't go through
> the center of her pupil.
> 
> Part of her retina was missing, from the front all the way to back of the
> eye. The eye lens was dislocated. She was also born with cataracts,
> complicated by the size of her eyes. By the time she was 14, they resembled
> those of an 80-year-old.
> 
> Though impossible 10 years ago, Kristen's eyes now have literally been
> rebuilt!
> 
> "I was able to see the mountains for the first time. See across a field, and
> see buildings across there. That was really cool."
> 
> Kristen O'Neil: "Being able to interact with people and be able to look at
> them face-to-face and eye-to-eye and have a conversation with them is really
> great."
> 
> At the Eye Institute of Utah, Dr. Alan Crandall removed the cataracts. Then
> he began reshaping things. He made Kristen a new iris by implanting an
> artificial plastic iris right into her eye sac. Specially designed lenses
> were also implanted to make up for the abnormally small eye. Both of
> Kristen's eyes were rebuilt.
> 
> Dr. Crandall: "She should not lose what she has now. She should just
> continue to improve over time."
> 
> At home Kristen reads comfortably to her kids, a simple pleasure she savors
> now. And for her son...
> 
> "Being able to read his music and teach him how to read music was probably
> the best, and interacting with the kids."
> 
> Jim O'Neil, Kristen's Husband: "I'm just glad Dr. Crandall could help at
> least one of us. I was a little bit worried at first because I've been
> through a lot of eye surgeries and none have worked out for me."
> 
> But Jim O'Neil says the surgical magic came through for his wife, with
> colors, hues, and detail.
> 
> "Being able to ride my bike, take my kids for rides and stuff with me."
> 
> Dr. Crandall: "The fact that she can ride a bike is pretty amazing. To me,
> that's amazing."
> 
> Kristen's vision is not perfect, but it's good. Blind she is no more. With
> her delightful sense of humor she says, "It was really, I guess you would
> say, eye opening."
> 
> The Division of Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired paid for
> Kristen's remarkable surgery through its rehab program.
> 
> For more information, read Lois Collins' story in tomorrow's Deseret Morning
> News and check the link above.
> 
> 
> 
> Aaron
> 
> 
> - --
> Skype: cannona
> MSN/Windows Messenger: cannona at hotmail.com (don't send email to the hotmail
> address.)
> 
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