May We All Be So Brave, Sarah

From the very beginning of this journey that we have been on with Sarah, Bob and I have always made a vow that Sarah would lead as "normal" a life as possible. We determined that being blind would not be an excuse or a deterrent for Sarah to lead the life that she was meant to lead. Throughout all of the questions and uncertainty that surrounds you when you are the parent of a child who is facing medical unknowns this frame of mind was the one thing that we did not budge on. Sarah was still going to lead a life full of wonder, beauty, love, accomplishment, and contentment. There would be no dead end for Sarah only road blocks. And road blocks, although frustrating at times, do not mean the end of a journey. They just lead us down a different path where the outcome remains the same.

It is no surprise that Sarah is amazing. She inspires even the most hardened of us and allows us to see what living a life full of grace really means.  Sarah, in short, is Hope. Hope of good things yet to come. Hope of how to get up time and time again when one stumbles and faces a dark path and prognosis. Hope of how not to let life keep one down when that is clearly the easiest path to journey down. Hope of how there is beauty even the ugliest circumstances. Hope of how there is Light even in the darkest of Dark.


A friend of mine is very inspired by Sarah and the success she has made of herself. My friend is a speech pathologist for a local public elementary school here in town and felt that Sarah's life was such a positive story of hope and overcoming hardship that she asked Sarah to come into her classroom and speak to her students about what it means to be living in today's world as blind young person.

So, on February 29, 2016 Sarah did just that. She spoke (with my help) to a classroom of children about what caused her blindness and what things she is doing today to lead a successful life. She showed the students how to use an abacus for math, a braille writer to write braille, and then showed them how to read braille. She also did a demonstration on how to use her cane and then had the students try it out themselves.

I was so proud of Sarah. I was proud of her because she has become so shy since going blind. So withdrawn at times. She spoke clearly and openly with these kids. She came out of her shell and it was one of the best moments of our journey into living this new life. She smiled and laughed. She corrected me when I would say something incorrectly. She did an awesome job.

I have no doubt that Sarah Marion is destined for great things. This was just the first step of many, many more things to come. I wish you all could have seen her shine. It was breathtaking. And I could not help but feel like I was standing on top of a mountain with my fists in the air and shouting at this disease the words, "You will not keep us down!  We are unbeatable as a family. She is unbeatable! She is stronger than you and she will win the war!"

May we all be so brave as to live the life that Sarah does so well. A life that faces fear and uncertainty with a determined spirit and keeps moving forward one step at a time.