People have this image that folks with disabilities are different.  Well, everyone has challenges, and people with disabilities just have different ones.  If someone has a physical disability, it takes more energy.  Sylvia is legally blind, due to retinitis pigmentosa, and it creates both physical and emotional demands for her.  People don’t realize that just to walk takes thought.  She has to be constantly thinking about what she is going to encounter.  Who will she have to recognize?  My brain is on constant overdrive.  By the end of the day, Sylvia is mentally exhausted.  Her daughter is the best thing in her life.  Once, when Sylvia thought she was embarrassed by her, she was actually proud that Sylvia was so competent.  Her daughter saw that some things were hard for Sylvia, but she knew Sylvia wouldn’t stop.  She wants her to learn to be determined, too.  She has taught me how to appreciate every day.  Not to worry about the past or future, but to enjoy the moment.

“It took someone saying to me, ‘You have a choice, and you can do it.’  I had to learn to think positive.  I decided to stop feeling sorry myself and get on with my life.” 

Photographed by Ginny Dixon

Sylvia Perez & Olivia