The Blind Chick

On a special episode, Penn and Evan (Aftersight’s Audio Production Technician) go to Vail and ski with Foresight Ski Guides. ?Foresight Ski Guides, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to making challenging recreational opportunities through snow sports both affordable and accessible to visually impaired and blind skiers. Penn and Evan collected the thoughts of the other skiers and guides w...

Melissa was featured in a short movie, “From my Window,” which is about how she wanted to live life out in the world and not just live through what she could see through her window. She made a commitment to hike a mountain - but she had no idea how she was going to do it. Like the rest of us, Melissa faced a number of barriers in 2020, but she didn’t let the pandemic or cerebral palsy stand in her...

Tricia is an adventurous spirit, and she was also a passionate educator for youth with special needs. However, her Retinitis Pigmentosa affected her vision enough that she needed reasonable accommodations to keep working. When her school refused, she fought back, and she became her own champion. Now, Tricia continues to do the things she loves - go on cruises, hike, snowshoe, ski, and so much more...

Foresight offers transformational experiences in the mountains. In the winter, they offer skiing that is really led by the skier and supported by the guide - not the other way around. In the summer, they offer paddleboarding, rock climbing, and a lot of other activities. Experiences are almost “concierge” where for a nominal tax deductible donation, Foresight will provide lift tickets, equipment r...

Trevor is an activist, artist, and outdoor enthusiast - oh, and he’s also a new dad! He talks about finding peace in ice climbing and about how rock climbing led him to sculpture to make “art through touch.” Trevor also talks about his travels, particularly to Nepal shortly after he lost his remaining vision. There, he helped at a center for children with disabilities and climbed to 17,775 feet. T...

Born to a mother who is also blind, Peggy Chong has been blind her whole life, and she has been active in the community ever since she can remember. She’s an astounding person and a published author who brings life to women and men in history who were blind. It all started when she was asked to clean out some files at the Home for the Blind in Minnesota when it closed. Instead of tossing all of th...

Nick was born 90 days too early back in 1942, so early that the doctors told his mother to “pick a name so they could bury him.” But, with the help of an incubator, Nick survived - even if the process took most of his vision. He has been leading an incredible life ever since. As an advocate for people with disabilities, he spoke truth to power… and was fired and blackballed for his effort. He has...

Certified Senior Advisor and author of, Why a Reverse Mortgage, Don talks us through what a reverse mortgage is and how a reverse mortgage can solve financial issues for homeowners. Don Opeka is with Orion Mortgage, INC. He knows that a reverse mortgage is not for everyone, but is an expert in when it makes sense, and how it can positively impact the lives of seniors and their families. Orion Mort...

Diagnosed with a rare eye disease called Leber’s congenital amaurosis, a genetic condition carried by her parents. Effects the retinas and slowly degrades the vision. Jaden talks about how her parents recognized her symptoms of failing vision, and her journey through misdiagnosis to finally understanding her condition. She talks about how the signs were there from the age of two, but how it took a...

Penn and Olive chat together about the relationship between a granddaughter with vision and a grandmother who is visually impaired. Olive is a bright, effervescent spirit with a fun and candid take. Olive, who is nine, shares her thoughts on the positives and negatives of having a “Nana” who can’t see very well - but mostly, she makes it obvious that it’s really not a big deal for her. Join Penn a...

Bill Johnson was walking to the subway station with two colleagues when a lone gunman jumped out of the shadows and shot all three of them. Bill was the lucky one. The bullet that struck him entered one temple and exited the other, destroying his optic nerve. The other two men were killed. Now profoundly blind, Bill had to learn to navigate this new, dark world. Today on Aftersight, Bill talks wit...

Born months too soon, Jose's parents were told he only had 12 hours to live. But, Jose was a fighter. That fighting spirit has helped him persevere in spite of blindness (blindness of prematurity) and cerebral palsy. He is a recent graduate of Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind, and has dreams of becoming a DJ. Jose also hosts his own podcast: It is my job. Blind students interview blind adult...

Bill is a working psychotherapist and an honest, engaging, and entertaining human… who also happens to be blind. Bill has Usher Syndrome, Type 2, a rare genetic disease that causes hearing issues and vision loss due to Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). On Aftersight Bill talks about “coming out” as someone with a disability - specifically vision loss. Because of his experience, he talks not just about th...

Beth Gustin is a therapist with a specialty in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Beth, who is visually impaired, talks about her work and her and explains this method of therapy which can help people coping with past trauma - even individuals who are blind. On this episode of Aftersight, Beth talks us through EMDR and therapy techniques that can help us as we work through traum...

Lorna is a retired teacher. She taught special ed, on reservations, and helped create the structure of Colorado's preschool system. Lorna also taught at Front Range Community College the next generation of Special Education teachers. She enjoys retirement with her dog, Frodo.

It’s almost Colorado Gives day! This year, we're celebrating our 30th anniversary of our first news broadcast in 1991. On this episode of Aftersight, Alice George walks us through AINC’s history - through various changes to programming and technology. She also talks about her vision loss and loss of hearing - but none of that has stopped her from having a powerful impact on the world. https://ainc...

Gail doesn’t believe in letting barriers stand in the way of life. Born ten weeks early, the treatment that helped her survive also caused retrolental fibroplasia - or complete blindness. Today on Aftersight, we explore her life, from how she struggled with depression and even contemplated suicide to her adventures singing opera, climbing the 75-story Story bridge, and her work as a writer on Soar...

Ethan’s story is as staggering as it is heartwarming. Born in Ethiopia, he was taken and blinded at a young age - then forced to beg for those who injured him. Believed dead by his mother, Ethan was adopted in 1997 and relocated to Missouri where he lived with 20 other adopted siblings. Today, Ethan is a father, an employee of the federal government, a founder of a nonprofit, and an unbelievably r...

Bonnie Barlow is a professional audio describer. That is, Bonnie narrates what is going on during movies, plays, ballets, television shows, and even rodeos for people who can’t see the action. Bonnie talks about how she started her journey as a professional audio describer almost 30 years ago and what makes for a vibrant audio description. Audio description is a fascinating topic that is extremely...

The week on Aftersight, Penn talks with Dale Hill, who talks us through his life and his experience with Bardet-Biedl syndrome, an inherited disease causing progressive loss of night and peripheral vision from retinitis pigmentosa. BBS can also cause a number of other symptoms and problems including: obesity, extra fingers and toes, kidney disease, and developmental disabilities. Dale is lively, a...

In Community Conversations #2, Penn talks with Robert Weinberg - a passionate and talented photographer who was struck with central vision loss when he was about 50 years old. Robert, now 74, talks us through his journey and career in photography and talks candidly about the finality of his diagnosis and the depression that followed. He shares the path he walked toward renewed independence and the...

Our host, Penn Street, lost most of her eyesight at age nine to Stevens Johnson Syndrome after being bitten by a rattlesnake. Her husband, Moses Street, is a professional photographer. In our first-ever Community Conversation, they have a warm and candid conversation about the 30+ years they’ve spent together and the realities living, working, and travelling side by side. After a few decades, they...