CHAPTER 1

INDEPENDENCE WITH DIGNITY

In 1929 with the founding of The Seeing Eye, Inc. the dream ofindependence with dignity for all blind persons with the requisitemental and physical agility and strength began. The work of thefounders of The Seeing Eye is told by Peter Brock Putnam in hisbooks, "Keep Your Head Up Mr. Putnam", "Love in the Lead","The Triumph of The Seeing Eye", and, "The Miracle of TheSeeing Eye." "Freedom Found" begins in 1967 when I was a firsttime student at The Seeing Eye. I lost my eyesight in a single caraccident at 12:44 A.M. on Sunday, May 21, 1967. My injurieswere so severe there was little hope expressed by my physiciansfor my survival. Recovery was an even more remote possibility.The fact that I was leaking spinal fluid through my broken nosefrom an inoperable spinal lesion made my prognosis a dire one.Without medical intervention the lesion sealed itself, the spinalfluid stopped leaking and I suffered no paralysis. On June 14,1967 I was released from the Intensive Care Unit of ScrippsHospital. I was taken home where, with the help of my Mother,Naomi, my Grandmother, Neomi, my sister Katherine, my brotherJames and many friends, I had the best chance of as full a recoverythat might be possible. I had contracted pneumonia while I was inthe Intensive Care Unit and Inhalation Therapy was administeredin conjunction with heavy antibiotics. I recovered from my boutwith pneumonia and it was better that I not be further exposed topneumococcal infections in hospital. Recovery of my eyesightwas never in doubt. My optic globes burst on impact. I waspermanently blind.

Readers of this book may wonder about the advisability ofreleasing me from the hospital intensive care unit to go directlyhome. I am sure it was the best thing for me at the time; unusual,yes. I must explain that my Grandfather, Walter Wisnicky, hadbeen a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. My Mother, Naomi,assisted him with many surgeries during her teen years. WhenWorld War II was declared, my Mother joined the U.S. Navyand was sent directly to Hunter College in New York for nursetraining. Military and medical educations for men and womenin the armed services of the United States were accelerated andcompressed as a result of the national need for medically trainedprofessionals in both the European and the Pacific Theaters. Upongraduation from Hunter College my Mother was assigned to theburn hospital in Corona, California where she cared predominantlyfor Navy personnel burned by gasoline and other flammablesubstances released when Japanese pilots crashed their aircraftwith fuel tanks fully loaded onto ships in the U.S. Navy PacificFleet. The Kamikaze pilots inflicted considerable damage to U.S.Navy warships and to the crews, many of whom were killed andmany others who were burned severely. The Navy air lifted itsburn victims to Corona, California where specially educated andtrained doctors and nurses tried to save their lives. The story ofthe heroism of these WAVES needs to be told, but, it will not betold here. Suffice it to say that my Mother had seen and nursedback to health men and women whose injuries were even moresevere than mine. At the time of my accident my Mother was inhospital administration with what is now known as the Universityof California at San Diego Medical Center. It is unlikely that thefact the UCSD Medical Center had the best burn victim facilities inthe County was just a coincidence. In her position with the UCSDMedical Center my Mother knew and selected the best physiciansfor me. In turn, these physicians knew of my Mother's medicaltraining and were willing to release me to return home when itwould otherwise seem ill advised to do so. I would return toboth Sharp Hospital and Mercy Hospital for more surgeries in themonths that followed.

I remember walking into my room and to my familiar bed. Iclimbed under the covers and went to sleep instantly. I was sorelieved to be home. I spent the weeks that followed, in largepart, in my own bed sleeping. Somewhere during that time frameI came to realize that I could not and would not ever see again.My body had been fighting for its very survival and nothing else.Hours before the auto accident I weighed 185 pounds. My bodywas well conditioned as I had been a San Diego City Lifeguardstationed at Mission Beach Tower 4 during the summer of 1966.When I was released from the Intensive Care Unit after 24 days,I weighed 117 pounds. With time, my higher thought processesbegan to return. The night I understood I...