Success Stories
"Success to me is learning all the things I can do for myself and for others. When I help other people with vision loss at the Guild, it makes me happy and reminds me of how far I have come and how far I can go."
Jose's Story
My name is Jose. I am 23 years old and live in Cicero. When I was one year old, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The surgery to remove it was successful, but I lost my sight.
I have always loved technology. Technology is very important to people with vision loss. With it, we have the ability to pursue a wide range of jobs or do those things that people with sight take for granted such as surf the web or use email. But my high school teachers did not know about adaptive technology.
I came to the Guild to learn to use technology and ended up learning a lot about myself. I realize I have skills that other people with new vision loss do not. Now, I am a Guild volunteer helping Guild members learn to use computers, tutoring others in braille, and I am helping the Guild update its computers to use the latest software. The ability to help other people has given me confidence to try new things. With the Guild staff’s encouragement, I just got my first guide dog, Johnny. Johnny allows me to more mobile and have more job opportunities.
More Stories
“I’m the first visually impaired person they hired. They didn’t think we could do the work. Now that they see me and how well I’m doing, they want to hire more people with vision loss." Read Elaine's Story.
"When people lose their sight, they feel cut off. When you sit down and interact with others, sharing stories of failures and triumphs, you feel like you belong again." Read Jerome's Story
