Angie was born with no disabilities and no hint of the challenges her future would hold. As a young teenager she began losing her hearing in both ears and by age 16 Angie was profoundly deaf. Later that same year she was also diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, meaning her vision was diminishing too.
Despite her new disabilities, Angie graduated summa cum laude from Kent State University with a triple certification in special education. She moved to Maryland, started “The whole world is telling me her teaching career, got married, bought a house and had a baby.”
When her son was only six months old, she suffered from a flare-up from what she now knows is an extremely rare genetic disease called PHARC (Polyneuropathy, Hearing Loss, Ataxia, Retinitis Pigmentosa and Cataracts). Within a month she was completely deaf and blind. In addition, she lost feeling and the use of her hands, feet and legs. The only way people could communicate with her was to print letters on her face.
Her recovery took years, but she regained feeling and use of her hands and now uses tactile sign language for communication. As a postgraduate student, Angie is taking creative writing classes. She received support from a Deaf-Blind Specialist, Judy, through the Ohio Deaf-Blind Outreach Program (ODBOP). ”Judy is the link that is making everything happen for me. I would not be where I am today without her support,” says Angie.
“ODBOP has the experience to help me and advocate for me,” says Angie. “Most importantly they believe I can succeed. The whole world is telling me ‘you can’t’ but Ohio Deaf-Blind Outreach knows I can!”
ODBOP was a program provided through CSH’s Careers for People with Disabilities (CPD). CPD ran for over 40 years and offered vocational services for people with disabilities.