The Day I Went Blind
I was only 19, when I woke up as usual in the morning on November 11 of -1994, only to realize that I could not see, as if someone had put glue in my eye overnight and it felt sticky when I opened my eye. It was white blind and not black blind. Some weeks of grueling tests and eye and brain exams led to the grim diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, MS. Little did I know, at the time, what nasty a disease I had come down with. My life as a reasonably viral and healthy lad changed forever on that god-forsaken ominous day ended and a new chapter of painful and heart wrenching failures and set backs instigated by the wild-beast, as one of physicians calls it, started. Today after almost 25 years of living with MS, I am wheelchair bound, can’t speak clearly and need a speech synthesizer to speak for me like that of the late Steven Hawking’s, can’t write or even eat on my own and need to be spoon fed. Have very low vision and am almost legally blind, and In a nutshell, I am physically very confined and restricted, but thank heavens, I have quite a keen and sharp mind. Even though I am more than certain that if I had a say in being inflected by MS, I would have certainly said that I did not want it, I can contribute many of my good characteristics and personal traits to MS. I studied computer software engineering degree in Iran, I am a Microsoft Certified Professional and have (MCP) certificate from Microsoft, a BA in Linguistics, a master’s in business administration, and acTESOL(Teaching to Speakers of Other Languages) certificate all from university of Utah, and I am going to start a PhD program in Disability Studies at Utah State University in August of 2019. I know 4 languages; Persian, Dari, English, and Arabic. I have worked as a contractual translator in the UN, I have translated and co-authored three business related books from English to Persian in Negotiations, HR management, and Marketing.
I am also planning to become a fashion model for the disabled to spread my wings more and become a more influential, inspirational and motivating figure to both the disabled and the able-bodied communities,
I am almost certain that if had I not had MS for this long time, I would not have been so zealously arduous to achieve and attain my goals, would not have been a true over achiever, so ambitious, resilient, and patient, and last but not least, I would not be so great at time management and so competitive, always trying not to fall behind.
