Interviews to Empower Presents: Heather McComas

Hello, and welcome to another edition of Interviews to Empower where we hope to inspire you by introducing you to everyday people doing everyday things with or without sight. This month’s interviewee is a long time friend who doesn’t know the word “can’t”. Come along and Meet Heather McComas.

Q: So Heather, tell us a little about yourself and how you became blind.

A: Well, I have a real hard time describing who I am. Many people tell me that I am pretty amazing and all of that, but I feel as if I am just an average person trying to live their life as simple and drama free as I possibly can. These days it is not that easy, but I stick to my little corner of the world and keep my nose on my own face. I am someone who would do anything for my friends and family. I will also do my very best to do for those who are  less fortunate  than myself. I became blind when I was about three-months-old. I was diagnosed with “Retina Blastoma.” Which is cancer of the eyes. I had a little vision in my left eye until I was about twelve-years-old and then went totally blind.

Q: Did you go to public school or the school for the blind?

A: I went to public school for a very short time during my kindergarten year, but my teacher and parents made the decision to send me to the school for the blind.

Q: What types of extra curricular activities were you involved in at WVSB?

A: Does reading count? :-) I did do a lot of that. I was in band, chorus, student counsel, Girl Scouts and on the goal ball team my junior and senior years.

Q: Did you go to college and are you working today?

A: Yes I did go to college. I got my Associates Degree in Information Technology and in 2016 I finally completed my Bachelor’s Degree. It really didn’t end the way I really wanted it to, but I do have a degree. I am hoping to get over my fear of rejection and move on to my Master’s Degree. I am working now; I work at Heritage Farm and Museum in Huntington, WV. I am what you would call a “In House Artisan.” I weave baskets and educate our visitors on the history of baskets and blindness. I sometimes find it hard to tell people that I sit and weave all day. Though, I am very thankful for this opportunity and I love where I am working.

Q: We know you do a lot of volunteer work, can you tell us a little more about that?

A: I volunteer every now and then for the VA here in Huntington. I had the opportunity to teach a couple of our veterans how to read basic braille so that they could read the labels on the buttons of the elevators. I was on the Board for Cabell-Wayne Association of the Blind for ten years; the last four I was President. I help teach basket classes to the consumers of CWAB.

Q: How did you get into weaving baskets and starting your own business?

A: It all started out being a girls night out for my sister, mom and myself. We would go to a basket class that was taught by my sister’s exmother-in-law. I was very nervous and was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to do it, but I took right off; if I remember correctly. I was so happy to  find something to do. I was not involved in anything and  it was nice to have something to keep my fingers busy. The business part is still to this day a mistery to me! I would make baskets for my professors, notetakers, and advisors at Marshall University, and then people would ask me how much a basket was. My dad gave it its name “Three Blind Mice.” I do not make enough to live on from selling my baskets. I barely make enough to pay for the materials. Since I have started (1999) to today, the price of the materials has more than doubled. Also, I am more than generous when it comes to pricing them. I hate feeling like I am ripping someone off. Would I like to make a supplemental living off of my baskets, yes.

Q: What advice would you give students just graduating who are blind or visually impaired?

A: I would tell them to believe in the words, “I can” rather than the words, “I cannot.” There will be road blocks and there will be those who do not see past the visual impairement, but be strong and be willing to put forth the extra effort it will take to prove you are more than capable to achieve your college degree or to land that job you applied for.

Q: When times get tough, what inspires you to keep on keeping on.

A: Keeping a positive attitude. No, it is not easy at times, but me being blind is not going to change, so why should I sit around feeling sorry for myself?

Heather, thank you so much for allowing us to interview you. You are an inspiration just by being yourself, and your baskets are beautiful.

And, a huge thank you to you, our faithful readres for being with us today. If you would like to see pictures of Heather’s baskets, you can find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/heatheremccomas?hc_ref=ARRTKrrLIk_EQg-OcZbSjT8__JjSjE4UUiucl-0mZu14WhUE9ZK_3tpcYrGubfQ6qHg

To learn more about the Cabell Wayne Association of the Blind, CWAB, check out their website at www.cabellwayne.org

That’s it for today, but be sure and come back on the 2nd Thursday of April. We don’t know what we’ll be talking about, but we will be here, and we’ll have something to say. :) Until then, drop us a comment below or send us an email at adkinsandwells@gmail.com

Blessings.

Don't Trust Your Eyes

Hello and welcome. S. J. Wells here with you today. We’re going to get real and personal, so sit down and let’s talk.

A friend of mine is writing a devotional, and one of the sections of her book talks about deserts. I was reading over her portion about mirages, how they are simply a trick of the light. Mirages are real, she says and show up on film, but it is our perception that thinks it is one thing when it is another.

As a person who is blind, I understand this concept but can not say I have experienced it. I have no light perception. I have never had long distance vision. But, I’m wondering about the mirages that I can’t explain.

I lost what was left of my vision in the summertime. I was 21, it was the summer of 2000, and I was a newly wed. First, I started noticing that the lights looked dimmer. Daylight appeared as early morning or evening, the house seemed darker, and my left eye, the one I had some vision in was hurting pretty bad. I was born with glocoma, so I new the pain associated with it. Yet, this pain was worse than anything I had ever known.

Come to find out, the pressure in that eye had gone down to 4. The optic nerve was collapsing upon itself, and whatever vision was left had already vacated. What I was seeing was what my brain thought I should be seeing. Trouble was my brain forgot about time. Sunshine coming through the window after 10:00 PM, a burning lamp when the lamp was actually turned off, cloudy days when it was clear. Yep, my mind was playing tricks on me. I would nap during the day, wake up and think it was midnight because of what my brain “saw”. If I was sleepy, the day felt dark. If I was wide awake at 2:00 AM, my brain “saw” 11:00 AM. Disconcerting, I can tell you.

It’s been 18 years since I went totally blind, and I’m used to my crazy brain by now. I’ve learned, for the most part to ignore what I think I’m seeing and get on with my day or night. But, it makes it difficult to explain when someone asks those inevitable questions, “So, what is it like to be blind? Is it dark all the time, or is it like when I close my eyes?”

My oldest daughter started asking those questions yesterday, and it got me to thinking about it, especially when I read about mirages this morning. Also makes me remember that our senses, while awesome and useful, can’t always be trusted. More often than not, we must trust what we know to be truth and set aside our feelings in order to succeed.

I heard a story a few days ago about an orientation and mobility instructor who taught his totally blind student a particular rout, knowing the building at the destination would soon be torn down. The student learned the rout backward and forward. Then, the day after the building was torn down, he told her to go to that particular destination. He followed her, and when she got there she found out what had happened. At first she was confused; the building should be there. But, maybe she had made a mistake? The student was relying on her senses. She didn’t hear the building or feel it. Then, she concluded that she had not made a mistake. The building was in fact gone. She didn’t hear it or feel it. She had to go on what she knew to be truth instead of how she felt.

Truth is where there is a will, there is a way. Truth is we can’t always trust our senses. Truth is we all have a purpose on this earth, and we can do anything we set our minds to. Don’t believe me? Then, you can’t and won’t ever.

FDR had polio and couldn’t walk and was president for 12 years.

Laura Ingalls Wilder was a pioneer farm wife and wrote books that have sold millions.

Helen Keller was blind and deaf and learn to speak.

Christine Ha is blind and won the title of Master Chef in 2012.

Want to succeed? Get out of your comfort zone and do the thing you think you can not do. How? Trust in the one who created you. He knows what you are capable of, and He, unlike your senses or your heart can be trusted to never fail you.

Thanks for being with me today. I hope I have encouraged you. If so, leave us a comment. Be sure and come back On March 22 for another edition of Interviews to Empower. Our interviewee is a friend of ours, and you won’t want to miss it.

Note: This post first appeared on my author blog on my website, sjwellsauthor.com

**Disclaimer** All errors, spelling and grammar belong solely to me. LOL