CRB1 Diagnosis

Links to Stories of Accomplished Bling Adults and Young Adults

Erik Weihenmayer: Despite losing his vision at the age of 13, Erik Weihenmayer has become one of the most accomplished adventurers in the world. Re-defining what it means to be blind, Erik has opened the minds of people around the world. He is the only blind person who has reached the summit of Mount Everest and the tallest peak on each continent. Today, Erik continues to inspire others with motivational talks, charity work, and wild adventures such as whitewater kayaking. http://www.touchthetop.com/

Captain Scott Smiley: Scotty Smiley, a Ranger and combat-diver qualified infantryman, was the Army’s first active-duty, blind officer. On April 6, 2005, he lost use of both eyes when a suicide car bomber blew himself up thirty meters in front of Scotty’s Stryker vehicle. Since that day, Scotty has surfed in Hawaii, skied in Vail, skydived, climbed Mount Rainier, completed several triathlons, and graduated from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business with his MBA. The Army Times named Scotty its Soldier of the Year in 2007 and in 2008 he won an ESPY as the Best Outdoor Athlete. Scotty, a recipient of the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, recently taught the core course in leadership at West Point. He then commanded the Warrior Transition Unit at West Point’s Keller Army Medical Center caring for soldiers across the New York area. Captain Smiley was recently named a recipient of the Army’s prestigious MacArthur Leadership Award and currently holds an honorary PhD from Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, NY. He is the author of the newly released book Hope Unseen. He has appeared on CBS, Fox News, CNN and several radio stations in NYC. After Scotty finished the Captain Career Course in Ft. Benning, GA, he accepted a post in the ROTC Program at Gonzaga University. http://www.hopeunseen.com/.

Scott MacIntyre: As the first blind finalist on American Idol, MacIntyre was called “an inspiration to the entire world through your commitment, through your talent” by former judge Paula Abdul. Visually impaired since birth, he started playing piano by ear at age three, began classical lessons at six, and subsequently learned to play organ, guitar, bass and drums. When the family moved to Toronto for several years, he studied music at the Royal Conservatory of Music before relocating to Arizona, where, at fourteen, the home-schooled MacIntyre was admitted into Arizona State University’s Barrett Honors College and Herberger College of Fine Arts. In 2005, he received the coveted Marshall and UK Fulbright scholarships and was ranked by USA Today as one of the top twenty undergraduate seniors in the nation. He then graduated ASU Summa Cum Laude at nineteen, going on to receive a masters degree overseas in England at Royal Holloway, University of London and the Royal College of Music. During his time overseas, MacIntyre was invited back to the US to be received in the Whitehouse by First Lady, Laura Bush as one of three national RFB&D scholarship winners. He was accepted to both Oxford and Cambridge Universities for further graduate study in the UK. http://scottmacintyre.com/.

Isaac Lidsky blind attorney and Supreme Court law clerk for Sandra Day O’Connor http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/20/blind.law.clerk/.

Tom Wlodkowski, Blind Comcast Executive http://articles.philly.com/2013-08-29/business/41542138_1_guide-disabilities-act-comcast-corp.

Patrick Leahy works on Capitol Hill, is a bodybuilder, and is blind. See his story that recently aired on the TODAY show http://www.today.com/klgandhoda/inspiring-blind-bodybuilder-defies-odds-8C11553827.