DISABILITIES

By Daniel J. Vance

The disease literally blindsided Garrick Scott.

At age 18, in 1987, Scott began experiencing night blindness, poor depth and color perception, poor peripheral vision, and his eyes weren't adjusting well to changes in light. He tried glasses, then a doctor thought he had a pinched nerve.

“But I had retinitis pigmentosa (RP),” said 38-year-old Scott in a telephone interview from his office in Atlanta, Georgia.

A National Institutes of Health website defines RP as a genetic, progressive eye disease “in which there is damage to the retina.” It affects about 75,000 Americans. Symptoms often appear in childhood, but severe visual challenges usually don't develop until after adolescence.

“(At first) it affected my confidence,” he said. “For instance, I didn't think I'd ever be able to date again because I wouldn't be able to see the girls. I missed driving a car the most. Also, I'm athletic, and I missed being able to engage in pickup basketball and football games.”

Scott attended Georgia Academy for the Blind and learned Braille and mobility skills. He went on to Gardner Webb University in North Carolina.

“When I entered college, I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders,” he said. “I felt like I'd be able to try a lot of new things.” While president of his freshman class, Scott was involved in choral groups and a gospel choir, and was a varsity cheerleader for three years.

He said, “I was using a cane at night by then, but not during the day, which was totally dangerous. I have the scars to prove it. I ran into many cars, walls, poles and doors. My pride was saying I didn't need (the cane).”

He earned a varsity cheerleader spot when impartial judges, not told of his blindness, scored his overall performance highest in tryouts. He said he was the only male cheerleader strong enough to throw “a girl up in the air and catch her.” It was all timing and repetition.

In college he majored in communication arts, which included courses in photography and video.

Today, Scott perceives only light, no images. He is a state board member of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and works as the NFB/NEWSLINE national outreach manager. NFB/NEWSLINE is a service that allows print disabled individuals anywhere to access about 250 newspapers and magazines over the telephone.

For more, see danieljvance.com. [This column made possible by a grant from Blue Valley Sod, www.bluevalleysod.com]