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A DISABLED LADY HAD A LIFE CHANGING EVENT
I am a disabled lady age 53, who has been disabled from birth with cerebral palsy. i was born premetuely at 2lbs and 12 ounces. i had a fifty fifty chance of living, seeing and surviving. i spent the first few months in an incubator. as a little girl, i wore braces, and belts to try and make my legs strong. i wore glasses from the age of three.

i went to regular public school. this was at a time when not many disabled children were mainstreamed. however my family fought the school board, and i got my education. i graduated from high school in 1972.
i wanted to provide a little background about myself as i continue with my story
All of my life books have been my constant friends, and companions. my love of reading started at an early age, and has substained me throughout my life.
at the age of 24, i lost the sight in my left eye due to optic nerve damage from birth. t he doctor was very kind, and gentle, and told me my eye had gone to sleep.
i still had my right eye or good eye as i called it. one day my doctor told me if you ever see flashing lights or something that appears to be bugs, get to na doctor or hospital right away.
one day when i was home alone i began to experience this. i went to the doctor and was told to go to a retina specialist. he told me to go home, lie down and give my eyes a rest. the next day it got worse, and began to get darker. i saw his associate who told me i had four holes in my retina. if i did not have surgery that day i would be permanently blind. he reccommended a doctor and hospital in philadelphia. Willes Eye Hospital where i under went a 5 hour operation. that night i was in a world of darkness. the next morning the doctor led me down the hall, took off my bandages and prayed i would see light. i did and was sent home.
Ten days later, i had to undergo the same operation where a buckle was placed in my eye. i spent the next year having surgery, cataract surgery, laser aurgery. at times i felt ready to give up.
in april of 1996, i went for my last laser surgery. the doctor said be prepared to start reading signs on the way home. i szaid yeah sure, so you can imagine my surprise when i started reading street signs on the way home to New Jersey. my parents started crying. they took me to a restraunt where i read a menu.
my mother asked me where i would like to go first. i said to see my one and only neice katie, who was one at the time. i had missed her first halloween outfit, and i wanted to see how she looked
when i say her dark hair, big brown eyes and chubby arms reaching out to me i felt i had been given a miracle
. the miracle of restored sight, a gift from God. the moral of my story? miracles happen everyday if you have hope and believe. written by linda E Bernstein

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