There are different responses to unexpected hardship, and when Marion Sheppard began to go blind, she cycled through many of them.
She pitied herself and cried long and hard, because this wasnt right this wasnt fair. Her hearing had been severely impaired since early childhood and shed endured schoolyard teasing about that, so hadnt she paid her dues? Done her time?
She raged. Why me? she asked, many times. Its a clich, but for a reason. She really did want to know why shed been singled out.
She trembled. This was the end, wasnt it? Not of life, but of independence. Of freedom.
She spent months wrestling with those emotions, until she realized that they had pinned her in place. Time was marching on and she wasnt moving at all. Her choice was clear: She could surrender to the darkness, or she could dance.
She danced.
Thats what she was doing on a Monday morning a month and a half ago when I stopped by a Manhattan community center for blind people thats run by Visions, a nonprofit social services agency. Marion, 73, was leading her weekly line-dancing class.
She was teaching about a dozen students the steps to the electric slide and similar favorites. But, really, she was teaching them defiance. She was teaching them delight. She was teaching them not to shut down when life gives you cause to, not to underestimate yourself, not to retreat. Shed briefly done all of that, and it was a waste.
Ladies and gentlemen, I need your attention, please! she shouted over the music. Most of her students are people over 60 whose eyesight deteriorated when they were already adults and who can remember different, easier times. She told them: Just because we cant see well, we can still do things, and one of those things is dance. Her chin was high, her shoulders pulled back and her chest pushed forward. Thats how she approaches the world now: ebulliently. Emphatically.
Weve got to keep moving, she continued. You know why? Because were alive! As long as were alive, we have to keep moving.
I met Marion because, as Ive described in previous columns, Ive had my own brush with blindness or at least with the specter of it. The vision in my right eye was severely and irreversibly diminished about two and a half years ago, by a condition that puts me in danger of losing the vision in my left eye as well. Since then Ive educated myself about blindness, seeking out visually impaired people and the professionals who work with them.
I asked the executive director of Visions, Nancy Miller, about programs that upend assumptions about people with disabilities and that illustrate their tenacity, optimism, resilience.
My dance instructor is deaf and blind and in her 70s, she said.
Your dance instructor? I responded. That didnt fit my ignorant vision of Visions.
I dropped in on Marions class. Her students are devoted regulars, and while Marion cant make out their faces, she knows them by their shapes and their voices, which her hearing aids render sufficiently audible.
She calls many of them baby or sweetheart. As best I can tell, she calls most everybody baby or sweetheart, a tic in tension with her big, brassy voice, which she uses in class to trumpet orders: To the right! To the left! Back it up! Tuuuuuuuurn! Cross a drill sergeant with a life coach, add a vocabulary heavy on the sorts of endearments stamped on heart-shaped candies and you get Marion.
She and her students have memorized the layout of the basement room in which the class is held, and she figures out which of her discs of music to load into the boom box by placing them under a machine, the Aladdin Ultra, that functions as a gigantic magnifying glass. It enlarges the letters on a discs case to a point where Marion can make them out. Blindness is a spectrum, and for many blind people, the world isnt all cloud; its just foggy enough to pose formidable challenges and force clever adaptations.
Marion uses her fingers to read the controls of the boom box. She uses her hands to determine if her students are moving as instructed. The students with more sight automatically help the ones with less, in accordance with an unspoken covenant.
Sometimes, though, someone just bluntly asks for assistance, as Marion did when fiddling with an attendance sheet. I need you for a second, she told a student standing nearby. I need your eyes. Can I borrow your eyes?
Marions own eyes were fine until she was in her 40s, she said, and began to experience episodes of scarily compromised vision. She got a diagnosis of retinitis pigmentosa, a progressive disease that usually shows up at an earlier age. For her, blindness was delayed, but it was coming all the same.
And it was hardly the first test of her strength. Marion didnt tally her misfortunes for me, but her daughter, Kokeda Sheppard, filled me in, to communicate how tough her mom is how indomitable. Marion, who has lived most of her life in the Bronx and still resides there, never really knew her father and was just 14 when her mother died, according to Kokeda. While relatives stepped in to help, Marion nonetheless functioned as a sort of parent to her younger siblings.
She got a college degree and, as it happens, worked for decades at The Times, though we didnt know each other. She was first a key punch operator and then a library clerk. She left about two decades ago. By then, her vision had degenerated badly.
Kokeda is her only child and remembers how hard Marion, who separated from Kokedas father, always worked to make sure that she didnt want for anything. Marion routinely drove nearly four hours from their apartment in the Bronx to the private boarding school in Pennsylvania that Kokeda attended and then made nine-hour road trips to visit Kokeda in college in Virginia.
My mom is one of the most reliable people Ive ever met in my life, said Kokeda, 47, who now lives in New Jersey. I think shes awesome, in case you havent gotten that. If I can be half the woman she is, Ill be OK.
It was partly because Marion was so active and proud of her autonomy that her failing vision devastated her at first. She felt powerless. Vulnerable. I was really terrified, she told me, and that terror was distilled into a recurring thought: Unable to see a strangers approach, shed be mugged.
She also couldnt shake the worry that people were going to look at me differently, act differently toward me, she said. And people do.
For a while, as her vision faded, she rarely left her apartment. But on one occasion when she did, attending a social event where she encountered other blind people, she was struck by how physically withdrawn they were, how still. I said, Oh, no, she recalled. This is the way my life is going to be? Oh, no.
She resolved not to be self-conscious, not about anything related to her blindness. She didnt merely make peace with the cane that she sometimes uses to walk; she made friends with it. I always said if I ever had a boy, Id name him Tyreek, and I never had a boy, so Tyreek is my cane, she said. Tyreek is my best friend.
Line dancing had long been a hobby of hers, and after she started going to events run by Visions and met Miller, she proposed a line-dancing class. Miller was agreeable, provided that Marion could attract a following.
Marion did, and she has maintained it over the past decade. She attributes that less to her music (Hot Hot Hot, Cupid Shuffle, Blurred Lines) than to her mission: Shes creating a rare environment outside their own homes where blind people can be physically uninhibited, where they can move through space not with caution but with joy. Isnt that the very essence of dance?
When you go blind, you lose your confidence, Marion said. What I want them to do is to have confidence.
And they do. They find it in the warmth of how she greets them, in her yelps of encouragement Owwwww! Yeah! Hit it! as they dip and turn. At the second of the two classes I watched, an 87-year-old student of hers told me that she was all nerves and hesitation before she started line dancing with Marion about two years ago. She shuffled everywhere. Now she sashays.
A 55-year-old student told me, This has revived me.
There was a moment in both classes when Marion instructed all of the participants, who were arranged in parallel lines, to form a circle instead. Then, one by one, each of them took a turn in the center, busting moves for his or her clapping, hooting, stomping peers.
Marion took a turn, too. She corkscrewed from a standing position to a crouch. She twisted this way and that. She was fearless. Even better than that, she was limitless.
The rest is here:
She Went Blind. Then She Danced. - The New York Times
- Types of Blindness, Causes, and Their Treatment - Healthline - March 28th, 2025
- Types of blindness: Partial, total, congenital, and more - March 28th, 2025
- International collaborations helping understand the physical activity levels and well-being of children with visual impairment - Murdoch University - March 28th, 2025
- Revel in the Rainbow: Color-Blindness-Correcting Glasses Debut at Wooden Shoe Festival - Portland Monthly - March 28th, 2025
- Prevent Blindness Declares April as Women's Eye Health and Safety Month, Providing Free Educational Resources to the Public and Professionals - PR Web - March 28th, 2025
- Partial blindness hasn't stopped Oklahoma State's Stailee Heard from leading the Cowgirls into NCAAs - The Washington Post - March 28th, 2025
- Nine out of ten cases of blindness caused by glaucoma could be prevented through annual check-ups - Euro Weekly News - March 28th, 2025
- The silent sight thief: The devastating effects of glaucoma on mental health and quality of life - News24 - March 28th, 2025
- Rosie O'Donnell Celebrates Her 63rd Birthday After Move to Ireland as She Slams 'Willful Blindness' in Trump Administration - AOL - March 28th, 2025
- Partial blindness hasn't stopped Oklahoma State's Stailee Heard from leading the Cowgirls into NCAAs - Eagle-Tribune - March 28th, 2025
- The Longevity Wake-Up Call And The Blindness Of Leadership To It - Forbes - February 24th, 2025
- Album Review: Blindness // The Murder Capital - The Indiependent - February 24th, 2025
- The Murder Capital - Blindness - Northern Transmissions - February 24th, 2025
- The Murder Capital: Blindness review - independent pop | Indie - The Line of Best Fit - February 24th, 2025
- Prevent Blindness Kicks Off Second Annual "Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) Awareness Week," Feb. 24- March 2, 2025, as Part of its ROP... - February 24th, 2025
- Prevent Blindness Kicks Off Second Annual Retinopathy of Prematurity Awareness Week - Vision Monday - February 24th, 2025
- Gene therapy for rare childhood blindness shows lasting vision gains - R&D World - February 24th, 2025
- The Murder Capital's Blindness: A Voice of Significance in an Era Craving Authentic Discourse - Indie Is Not A Genre - February 24th, 2025
- Albums Of The Week: The Murder Capital | Blindness - Tinnitist - February 24th, 2025
- After Maine native testifies before Congress, Elon Musk targets his disability - Press Herald - February 24th, 2025
- Ozempic could BLIND you - it damages veins in the eye, major study finds - Daily Mail - February 24th, 2025
- Cerebral Venous Thrombosis Presenting With Binocular Blindness and Bilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss - Cureus - February 24th, 2025
- Treatment for horses may lead to therapy for type of blindness - Mid Florida Newspapers - February 24th, 2025
- The Murder Capital: Blindness album review - Louder Than War - February 24th, 2025
- 'First in the world': London doctors cure blindness in children born with a genetic condition - WION - February 24th, 2025
- Doctors cure rare blindness in infants with gene therapy - NewsBytes - February 24th, 2025
- Gene therapy new trial treats rare blindness in children - Daily Jang - February 24th, 2025
- Ozempic Blindness Could Be Rare but Real: What Experts Say About the Risk - ZME Science - February 24th, 2025
- Parents of boy with rare eye condition hail amazing results of gene therapy - Yahoo News UK - February 24th, 2025
- Myths and Assumptions about Blindness - BBC.com - February 24th, 2025
- Man accused of beating victim, causing permanent blindness in one eye - KAIT - February 15th, 2025
- Scientists Find Link Between Weight Loss Drugs and Blindness - AOL - February 15th, 2025
- Treatment for horses may lead to therapy for type of blindness - University of Florida - February 15th, 2025
- How Ageism Impacts Adults with Low Vision - National Council on Aging - February 15th, 2025
- Ozempic and other weight loss drugs may be linked to conditions that could lead to blindness, study says - Quartz - February 15th, 2025
- Treatment for horses may lead to therapy for type of blindness - Phys.org - February 15th, 2025
- Treatment for Horses May Lead to Therapy for Type of Blindness - Morning Ag Clips - - February 15th, 2025
- Foundation Fighting Blindness Celebrates 20 Years of VisionWalk - PR Newswire - February 15th, 2025
- Woman Victim of 'Lash Blindness'Shock at How She Looks Without Them - Newsweek - February 15th, 2025
- Some Ozempic users are losing their vision - but scientists dont know why - The Independent - February 15th, 2025
- Those with visual impairments or blindness tackling the trails at Pico Mountain - WCAX - February 15th, 2025
- Prevent Blindness Issues Call for Nominations for the 2025 Jenny Pomeroy Award for Excellence in Vision and Public Health, and Rising Visionary Award... - February 15th, 2025
- Medical warning: Ozempic and Mounjaro may be linked to vision loss - India Today - February 15th, 2025
- New research links Ozempic to vision loss and risk of blindness - MSN - February 15th, 2025
- Ozempic Blindness: Weight Loss Drugs Linked to This Condition, Experts Warn - Tech Times - February 15th, 2025
- Ozempic Blindness Lawsuit Mounts: Shocking Side Effect Of Weight Loss Drug Is 'Eye Stroke,' What You Need To Know - IBTimes UK - February 15th, 2025
- The Politics Of Erasure: Gaza, Genocide, And The Wests Wilful Blindness OpEd - Eurasia Review - February 15th, 2025
- WHO launches new initiative to tackle the main cause of vision impairment - December 19th, 2024
- Blindness Advocates on Why There Should Be Audio Description Oscars - Variety - December 19th, 2024
- Diabetic retinopathy is treatable and preventable but only if you catch it in time - USA TODAY - December 19th, 2024
- AI: Could it help prevent blindness in diabetics? - BBC.com - December 19th, 2024
- Health Officials Investigate Rare Form of Blindness Tied to Ozempic - Gizmodo - December 19th, 2024
- Ozempic Could Be Blinding People Trying to Lose Weight - VICE - December 19th, 2024
- What is retinitis pigmentosathe vision disorder in the movie Blink? - National Geographic - December 19th, 2024
- VR shows promise in aiding navigation of people with blindness or low vision - Health Tech World - December 19th, 2024
- Ozempic could be linked to a common cause of sudden blindness, study finds - Quartz - December 19th, 2024
- New virtual realitytested system shows promise in aiding navigation of people with blindness or low vision - Tech Xplore - December 19th, 2024
- Ex-meth user who gouged her own eyeballs out while high says she is happier years after nightmarish episode - New York Post - December 19th, 2024
- Officials investigating link between Ozempic and eye-rotting disease that makes people blind - Daily Mail - December 19th, 2024
- Youngster to 'have eye removed' after minor fall - but NHS waitlist 'over 3 years' - NationalWorld - December 19th, 2024
- Restoring Vision: The Promise of Stem Cells in Healing Blindness - This is Local London - December 19th, 2024
- COAVS and Fred Hollows Foundation strengthen efforts to combat blindness in Pakistan - 24newshd - December 19th, 2024
- Study finds link between Ozempic and increased risk of vision loss - The Express Tribune - December 19th, 2024
- Going blind at 33 is devastating I wont see my childrens faces as they grow up - The Telegraph - December 19th, 2024
- Europol terror report reveals stark blindness about where the danger lies - Gript - December 19th, 2024
- Elton John lost his vision; signs and symptoms of eye infections that can cause blindness - The Times of India - December 6th, 2024
- Elton John's battle with blindness: How 77-year-old star's husband David Furnish guided him around premiere as - Daily Mail - December 6th, 2024
- Experimental study shows connection between COVID infection and age-related blindness - Medical Xpress - December 6th, 2024
- Elton John confirms shocking blindness after severe infection fight: I havent been able to see.. - Hindustan Times - December 6th, 2024
- Yes, an Eye Infection *Can* Lead To Vision Loss Heres How - Katie Couric Media - December 6th, 2024
- Elton John Battling Partial Blindness After Serious Eye Infection - Digital Music News - December 6th, 2024
- CU Anschutz researchers working to cure blindness through total eye transplantation - 9News.com KUSA - December 6th, 2024
- Elton John lost his vision from an eye infection. Here's why that might happenand how to prevent it - Fortune - December 6th, 2024
- Elton John announces blindness due to infection - CBS19.tv KYTX - December 6th, 2024
- David Frost: I suffer from face blindness. As a politician, being unable to identify people is agony - The Telegraph - December 6th, 2024
- Hes still standing how Elton John has survived far worse than blindness - The Telegraph - December 6th, 2024
- Foundation Fighting Blindness Partners with University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Other Leading Institutions to Secure Up to $46 Million... - December 6th, 2024
- Walmart helping low vison and blind customers shop with new app - KSLA - December 6th, 2024
- Elton John Says He Is Blind In The Right Eye Due to An Infection; What Is It All About? - Times Now - December 6th, 2024
- Trumps Win: The Blindness of Republicans and Democrats - The Times of Israel - December 6th, 2024