[Ohio-Talk] Look What I Found During My Reading Time. Articles about two of our Ohio members!

Thu Mar 24 18:33:01 UTC 2022

Ohio Members and Friends,

Maggie Stringer is the editor of the National Community Service Division
Newsletter. She emailed it to us and you should take a peak. But, here are
stories about two of our Ohio members.

Suzanne

A TAKE DOWN YOU WON'T SEE COMING

National Athletic Training Month

Asia Quinones-Evans

For sports fans, sports are the epitome of hard work and dedication. To get
to the pinnacle of their sport, even the most naturally gifted athletes have
to give it their all. It is our honor to introduce to our readers, Miss Asia
Quinones-Evans.

"I am blind, but I was not born blind.

I had 20/20 vision until the world suddenly went black eight years ago, in
September of 2014 when it was discovered that a brain tumor was compressing
my optic nerve, causing 100% vision loss in less than a week. I had sight
throughout my life until the month prior to turning 17, meaning I had no
visual impairment experience nor the need to learn the skills. It was never
in my plans to go to college, however, after gaining a significant number of
blind skills, I decided to be a first-generation college student in my
family by enrolling at Lorain County Community College to pursue two
Associates of Applied Sciences degrees in Sports and Fitness Management and
Coaching and Promotion. It has not been an easy transition from attending
classes in person to everything shutting down and going virtual due to the
COVID - 19 pandemics throughout 2020 & 2021, but things are getting better
and slowly transition back to in person. 

I chose this major because I wrestled 6 years and developed a great passion
for the sport. When I wrestled at Ohio State School for the Blind, I had a
blind coach, and this motivated me to learn more about becoming a wrestling
coach. It is not usually a requirement to have a degree to become a
wrestling coach unless someone wants to become a coach for a college team. I
was very motivated to learn more about how to provide for my athletes. I
wanted to learn about how they can do such a demanding sport and mitigate
getting injuries.

This path is not typical for a blind person due to many challenges with
learning fitness without sight. I have a background in sports, so this makes
it somewhat easier. After I went blind, I was told by my athletic director
that I could not wrestle due to liability of injury. I had many bruises,
busted lips, and even bruised bones from wrestling with sight. As a female
wrestler this is even more difficult. I did not understand why I could not
wrestle without sight when I never complained with getting injured being a
smaller female. Wrestling is one of the easiest sports to adapt for the
blind because all that must be done is to keep constant contact while in a
match or practice. The referee is responsible for ensuring that this rule
stays applied while a blind wrestler in in the match. I do know that when I
continue to look for positions, I will come across the same inability to
understanding that a blind person can be a coach for such a demanding sport.

I am involved in my community by having the opportunity to assist coaching a
youth wrestling team in my local area. I work with the athletes more
individually when they need help. I am apart of several divisions of the NFB
of Ohio. I am the Treasurer of my local chapter, the Treasurer of the Ohio
Association of Blind Students, the Secretary of the Ohio Communities of
Faith, and a Board member of the Ohio Association of Guide Dog Users."

Asia is living her life as a champion! 

"It is not the size of a woman, but the size of her heart that matters."

#CelebrateBlindAthletes

//

A PILLAR OF Perseverance 

National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month

Written by Eric Duffy

March is Cerebral Palsy Awareness month, which gives us the opportunity to
both celebrate and educate others about cerebral palsy. We immediately
thought of Eric Duffy of Kettering, Ohio. A man who has dedicated most of
his life educating the world on his blindness and CP not being the
characteristics that would defines him or his future. Eric is a proud father
of two sons, and is a dynamic leader within our federation and on Capital
hill. We are proud to have him share a part of his story with us!

"Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that affect a person's ability
to move and maintain balance and posture. CP is the most common motor
disability in childhood. COULDC estimates that an average of 1 in 345
children in the U.S. have CP.

I am the only one in my immediate family with a disability.  CP and
blindness were not anything my parents were familiar with, but something
they had to learn about very quickly. My mom always told the story of how
people in my family often carried me because I was blind, and therefore,
they weren't aware of my struggles with walking and balance for a while
after I was born.

When most kids my age were starting school, I was having surgeries on my
legs. I don't remember the exact ages of the surgeries, but I remember being
in the hospitals having casts and doing physical therapy.

I have always fallen fairly frequently, and that is something I remember
that from an early age. Although when I was young, I didn't know much about
CP, I knew that I would not be able to walk, run, jump, and do other things
in the same way other kids did. In my early days at the Ohio State School
for the Blind, I made a conscious effort to build my upper body strength. I
did pushups, pullups, isometrics, and anything else I could think of. No one
prompted me to do this. But this upper body strength came in handy during
the rough and tumble of boyhood and later as a wrestler. I completed all of
my Physical Education requirements, although I could have gotten an
exemption. In addition to that, I did physical therapy while at school and
on Saturdays when at home.

I had the last surgery on my legs at the age of 14. I missed several months
of my seventh-grade year, but when I came back to school, I wanted to try
out for the wrestling team. I was not permitted to wrestle that year, but
the following year I made the team. I was not that good, because wrestling
does require a lot of leg strength.

Other than in those early years of my life, CP has not been something I've
thought about very much. I do the things that I want to do, and it does not
slow me down. When I am traveling outside, it literally does slow me down,
and it does help me to walk with someone for balance. Now I tend to walk
with others more than I used to, because I am getting older, and falls are
harder on the body.

I have never been treated differently in the Federation because of my CP.
Those who know I have it, have all been very supportive. Over the years I
have had the opportunity to talk with many parents of blind children who
also have CP, and my hope is that I have been able to help these children
and their families."

#CerebralPalsyAwareness

"Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flow charts. It is about one
life influencing another."

National Federation of the Blind of Ohio (NFBO)

Suzanne Turner, Ohio Affiliate Vice President

Cleveland Chapter, President

(216) 990-6199

Please click on the links below to learn more about the organization

The Ohio Affiliate

 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGe_1qGbkX8>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGe_1qGbkX8

"Live the life you want" featuring, National President, Mark Riccobono

 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DesLNDBpYVE&feature=share>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DesLNDBpYVE&feature=share

Visit and take a moment to like our Facebook Page!

<https://m.facebook.com/NationalFederationOfTheBlindOfOhioClevelandChapter/>
https://m.facebook.com/NationalFederationOfTheBlindOfOhioClevelandChapter/ 

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.