Through Our Eyes

-Story by Cameron Black

“Do, or do not, there is no try.” Master Yoda

“Do not adapt your life to suit your blindness, adapt your blindness to suit your life.” Cameron Black

Have you ever been out in the world, perhaps on a bus on your way to work, maybe behind the wheel of your own car, or dining out with your family and looked over to see a man or woman with a cane, perhaps a guide dog? At first glance, they might seem a little out of place, maybe a little incongruous to their surroundings. Upon catching sight of one of these unique individuals, have you ever found yourself pondering what their life might be like? What might their daily existence consist of? What are they thinking? What do they fear? What drives them? What helps them? What hinders them? What challenges them?

You might even ask yourself how they feel about their condition, whether it be visual impairment or complete blindness. You might even consider these people “Amazing”, because of the way they tackle everyday life with determination and tenacity. Would it surprise you to learn that what might seem amazing to you, seems rather prosaic and mundane to them? Would it also be fair to assume that any one of these individuals would gladly trade their lives of darkness and shadows for your own, and would it surprise you if that was not always the case?

Hi, I’m Cameron, and odds are that if you have seen one of these extraordinary people out in the world, it might very well have been me or even someone I know.

If you have ever asked yourself any or all of the questions above, then this blog is for you. I will do my best to shed some light on the daily lives of these remarkable men and women, and I will do so by introducing you to them and allowing them to tell you their stories. Before I do that, I want to tell you a bit about me so you know I’m the right one to shed some light on the world of blindness and those who live in it.

Born Blind

Todd and Angel Black had never met a blind person before, so they were not burdened by any preconceived notions regarding how you might go about raising one from birth, and while they might disagree, that would be greatly to my advantage.

My childhood could be considered remarkable by just how unremarkable it was. It consisted of climbing trees, chasing my sister in the backyard and swinging on swing sets, or finding ways to climb up them.

I had sleepovers at friends’ and family members’ houses, went to summer camp and attended school with my sighted counterparts. Only while they learned to read and write, I learned Braille. I was also learning how to walk with a cane, and use my ears, hands and memory to map out the geography of my world.

My parents held me back from nothing and encouraged whatever I wanted to try. By the time I reached my teenage years, that mentality would manifest in the form of a young blind man, zooming around is neighborhood on a skateboard, a bike, or roller blades.

As I entered into adulthood, my life began to take shape the same as many others had. I got married, got a job and became a father of two beautiful children. Before the birth of my first child, I would move from Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, to Kansas City, Missouri. This is where my life would truly begin to take shape and become what it is now.

My move to KC would turn me into a passionate sports fan, which subsequently would evolve into me becoming an amateur writer, broadcaster, and voice artist. Through my passion for sports, I was to be blessed with some life changing experiences. I would throw out the first pass at a Chiefs game, the first pitch at three Monarchs games and one Royals game. I would be featured multiple times on television, radio, and articles regarding my passion for sports and my ability to follow something that I have never before seen. All these events would culminate in my partnership with Michelob Ultra in the development of a technology that would immerse those with visual impairments or blindness in the world of sports, and we would start with basketball.

I worked on a consulting bases with a tech team for several months, developing the haptic technology, as well as auditory and braille feedback that would assist a person with limited or no sight in understanding and experiencing a live basketball game. To prove that this was possible with the technology, I provided the radio play-by-play for a live NBA playoff game, game three of Knicks vs Cavaliers in New York City.

This entire process from beginning to end, was made into a documentary called “Dreamcaster,” which went on to win an Emmy Award.

Now that you are up to speed with the last 36 years of my life, we come to the current day version of me. So, what is my life like you ask? Well, it is just like yours, maybe just a little bit different in the finer details.

I am no longer married, but have custody of my two children every weekend. I have a 7-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son. My daughter has inherited my eye condition and is visually impaired. She is at that age where she is noticing that she is different from her brother as well as other children in her class, but that she is the same as her daddy, which makes for an extremely special bond between the two of us.

Just Like Everyone Else

I get up every morning and go to work, work an 8-hour day, come home and make something for dinner, while listening to sports or reading a book (I’m a voracious reader).  On the weekends I am in total dad mode, watching cartoons, filling up inflatable pools, fixing meals, repairing toys, building blanket forts, giving baths, and reading bedtime stories.

As you can see, I lead a very normal life. I dare say a life very similar to your own. Only, I must use a transportation company to get where I need to go. My computer and cell phone talk, I have my closet organized so I know what I am wearing, and I have the spices on my spice shelf labeled in braille, and other small details and adaptions that set my daily existence apart from your own.

I might be blind, but that is of little consequence. I go to work, pay my bills, cook my meals and take out the trash. I take care of my kids and keep up with my friends and family. I have hobbies and passions, dreams and desires, I just have to get a little creative with how I go about pursuing them.

Some have gone as far as to call me “amazing” and while I greatly appreciate the sentiment, I will have to respectfully disagree.

I do not view myself as “amazing.” I am just a 36-year-old man, going about his day-to-day just as anyone else would. Mostly.

Would I change my condition if given the opportunity?

Being blind is all I know; it is all I have ever known. My blindness has helped shape me into the man I am, has paved the way for me to have incredible experiences, and has been a blessing to me in countless ways, I would not dream of changing it.

Now that I have described my life for you, as well as my outlook on it, I can tell you with a fair degree of certainty that not only am I not the outlier among blind people, I am actually just one of many with these viewpoints.

In each installment of this blog, I will introduce you to others who might be just like me in these regards, or who might be different depending on the paths they have walked. I will tell you their stories, and help you to see past the eye conditions, the canes, the dogs and the sunglasses, and shine a light on what we think, how we feel and what our daily lives look like. So come with me and allow me to be your sighted guide. Don’t worry, you can trust me, for while I might be blind, I can see just fine.

You should not shape your life around the fact that you are blind, but rather make your blindness suit the way you want to live your life.