Treated like a Celebrity

It was a night to celebrate. When one door closes, another door opens. Those were the opening words to the speech I gave on Friday evening at the Pitt Panther/Pittsburgh Steeler practice field. After losing my vision ten years ago, I attended BVRS (Blind and Vision Rehabilitation Services) of Pittsburgh where I learned to use a computer with adaptive software, converting text to synthesized speech. I initially wanted no parts of the program, feeling clients would be uneducated. I was a professional, after all. What could I possibly have in common with "those people?"

I was wrong. I met doctors and nurses, teachers and engineers, all with one common thread. We were all losing vision due to circumstances beyond our control. Some had the added burden of facing a marital crisis because a spouse could not face the blindness. We laughed and we cried. We bonded in a way words could never express. I was one of the lucky ones. What didn't kill me made me stronger. When I left the program, I found the strength to face a sighted world I was once part of. A former legal secretary and artist, I began taking creative writing classes to satisfy my creative muse. Eventually, doors to publishing houses opened. Doors have continued to open, all through faith to never give up on a dream.

When I was asked to be guest speaker at a BVRS fundraiser auction, I was horrified. But remembering how much the agency helped me through my darkest hour, I sucked it in and stood tall among the crowd. And when I finished my speech with a "Go Pitt!" I brought the house down and earned a hug from the Pitt Panther coach!

It was an awesome night. A photographer followed me around and the Tribune Review interviewed me. Below is the press release for the function and a link to the Tribune-Review where I am photographed. I feel truly blessed.

IT’S PARTY TIME AT BVRS!

Meet Pitt Football Coach Dave Wannstedt, pictured left, and tour the Pitt/Steelers Practice Facility at BVRS’ For Your Eyes Only 2010 Tailgate Party on the Southside from 7-10 p.m. Friday, June 11.

Enjoy a delicious buffet dinner, cocktails, and dance the night away to live music by the classic rock and roll band “Truth Be Told.” Reservations are required. Tickets are $75, with $35 of that amount tax deductable. For additional information, contact Blind & Vision Rehabilitation Services of Pittsburgh’s Development Department at 412-368-4400 or email inquiries to: dwoodfill@gphvis.org.

With Coach Wannstedt serving as auctioneer, you’ll have the chance to bid on autographed sports items, Pitt Panther Football Box Seats, a catered dinner in your home by celebrity Chef Bob Malone, a weekend at Seven Springs Mountain Resort and more.

And that's not all!

Pittsburgh author Sharon Donovan, pictured below, will be the guest speaker. At the tender age of 6, Ms. Donovan was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes and told by her doctor that she would be blind by the age of 25.

Those words haunted the Avalon resident all of her life and when the doctor’s prediction came true, Ms. Donovan came to BVRS where she learned how to manage her life independently with blindness.

Ms. Donovan has told her story in her nonfiction book, “Echoes of a Raven.” Once an artist who painted on canvas, Ms. Donovan is now an author of several books of fiction.

On her website, www.sharonadonovan.com, Ms. Donovan talks about her transformation in a poem titled ‘Yesterday.’

It says, in part: “From the maze of mayhem and rubble a new dream resurrected renewing hope and inspiration for a brighter tomorrow. Today, motivated by new insight, instead of painting pictures on canvas, I paint my pictures with words.”

Ms. Donovan’s most recent work, “Mask of the Betrayer,” is a psychological thriller and is available at this link: http://www.whimsicalpublications.com/sharon_donovan/mask_of_the_betrayer.html

BVRS appreciates the hard work and dedication of the For Your Eyes Only 2010 Committee: Michele Antonelli, Chair, and members Bonnie Anton, Peg Fitchwell-Hill, Denise Gipson, Julia Gleason, Virginia Goebel, Terry Jancisin, Marsha Kirley, Elizabeth McCarthy, Patti McKee, Joan Martin Siebart, Pert Pivirotto, Peggy Snavely, Julia Unitas Giba, and Jan Wannstedt.


Tribune Review

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_685885.html