The Blind Spot by Ray Morales

Sam has a very successful YouTube channel that has over 80,000 subscribers and he is uploaded over 800 videos.

Marine Corps veteran Zack Tidwell has a remarkable story to tell. Joining the Marine Corps right out of high school, Zack married his high school, sweetheart. Well deployed overseas, he found out she was having an affair, so the two divorced, . Not long after this Zack experienced a horrible motorcycle accident, where he received a traumatic brain injury , (TBI, ) and that was the beginning of his...

Brian proudly served in the US Air Force as an Aircraft Armament System Specialist f.rom 1986-1992. At the age of 24 his military career was cut short when he was diagnosed with Glaucoma. He returned to College, earning a degree in Healthcare Management. Brain is currently utilizing his skills at the BRC in Cleveland, Ohio.

After finishing his four year stint in the US Army, Kerwin Davis bounced around from job to job finding what suited best. It was well he was an over the road truck driver that he lost his vision in an instant while driving with a full load on an interstate.

US Army veteran Mike Murphy tells his story, of how he became visually impaired, and how adaptive sports helped him overcome his limitations. He and his guide dog Maverick, travel around the United States, participating in adaptive sports. He is quickly becoming a person to be reckoned with in the adaptive sports world. He participates in track and field, bicycling snowboarding, and many other spo...

Mergel Takam is the Director of DotPad Market and Development Team at Dot Inc. Mergel is originally from Cameroon and is now working and living in Seoul, South Korea. The audio quality is spotty due to the fact that Mergel is sitting in a Krispy Kreme donut shop. He tells of some future plans for the DotPad.

Jerome, or Jerry as he prefers to be called, is a retired US Marine Corps veteran. He grew up all over the country but claims upstate New York at home. His low vision is due to glaucoma which he still battles. Listen to him tell his story.

Terry Dodge is a veteran of the United States, Marine Corps, attaining the rank of lance, corporal before separating from service. He is married with two children, and has many interests, such as music, website, building, and fishing. He is heavily involved in his community through his conservation work, and his volunteer work. He’s a member of the BVA as well.

The special Veterans Day, episode, features, army, veteran, and Purple Heart recipient. Tim Hornik. Tim, well on patrol hunting down a sniper that had killed one of his team members earlier in the week, was shot in the head by a sniper, resulting in a life-changing injury. I believe we all should honor our veterans, especially those who have sacrificed so much so that we can have the freedom. We e...

John Williams is a Navy veteran who enlisted in 1966, served in Vietnam and many other areas of conflict during that time. Jon is very active in the VA golden age sports program. He has participated in many events such as: disc golf, cornhole, Tandem, bicycling, and many more. He will be the first to tell you that staying active keeps him young.

Janice Walth is not a veteran, however, she is an amazing person who is overcoming obstacles in tremendous leaps and bounds. Her and her brother have both been blind since early childhood due to a disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa or RP for short. she was misdiagnosed until she was 18 when she finally learned that she had RP since then Janice has thrived throughout college and marrying her husba...

BVA convention, roundtable discussion part two

This is a roundtable discussion at the BVA annual convention held in St. Louis Missouri August 17, 2023. In attendance are: Bill & Jeannie Murphy, Lonnie Bedwell, Anthony Woodson, Ray Morales and Chris Choi.

Corrine Nero is the Area Sales Manager for OrCam , and her territory consists of Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Prior to her time with OrCam, I worked as a Blind Rehabilitation Specialist with the VA. I she is passionate about helping people and using assistive technology to make a difference in someone’s life. 

Veteran Brian O’Connell is a retired lieutenant colonel who served proudly in the United States Air Force. For many years, he was a navigator for the B-52, During his career in the Air Force he served all over the world. Listening to his exciting story and please share this episode with others.

Tim and I just have a laid back discussion about everything from kayaking, to podcasting and more.

On Nov. 11, 2004 while on deployment in Iraq Lt. Hornik was shot in the head by a sniper. He awoke the next day to celebrate still being alive and his 25th birthday. After many surgeries. and months of recovery he rejoined his unit and remained on active duty until Dec. 2011 leaving the military at the rank of Captain.

US Army veteran Steve Baskis is a man many talents. After being wounded during his deployment in Iraq, he had many obstacles to overcome, such as recovering from his his wounds and learning to do things with one hand, and being blind. Steve hasn’t let his disabilities slow him down. He kayaks, mountain, climbs, compose his music, in Jose, podcast for blind musicians. learning to do everything he d...

Paul is a US Navy veteran who served in Viet Nam. In 1968 while unloading a ship in the Mekong delta, he was struck in the head by a block and tackle they were using to lower ammunition into the cargo hold. That injury initiated his journey into vision loss. Paul is currently the vice president of the BVA. He’s been a member for 37 years. He has a masters degree in social work from the University...

USAF Veteran Harvey Gaury from Baltimore, Maryland. Harvey is married, he also enjoys adaptive sports and competes across the country. Harvey also teaches self-defense to visually impaired people.

Major Joe Bogart began his career as a Private, then at the rank of S/sgt he attended Officers Candidate School. Upon graduating he was promoted to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant serving as a Platoon Leader. While deployed to Iraq he was injured by an IED(Improvised Explosive Device) leaving him with severe injuries to his face and eyes.

Meet US Navy Veteran Calvin E. Poole. Calvin's  journey began nine years ago when his eye doctor informed him that his sight was failing. And soon he was declared legally blind. Needless to say, he became demotivated and lacked the will to live the life that he was accustomed to living. The glaucoma spread rapidly to both eyes causing him to develop a sedentary lifestyle. He spent the first couple...

In November 2012 I was hospitalized with extremely high blood pressure resulting in total kidney failure which caused me to have a stroke ending with damage to the occipital lobe of my brain and my Optic nerve. This left me with severe visual impairment, after many years of therapy and after attending Hines Blind Veterans Rehabilitation Center, The Blind Spot was born.

Brian Harris, it’s a veteran from Chicago Illinois who is serving in Iraq when he was injured by a roadside bomb that left him blind. He has overcome many obstacles in his life but he has prevailed. He now the regional Director for the B.V.A.(Blinded Veterans Association)). Brian is a single Father, an avid Sportsman and along with a group of other Blind veterans kayaked the Grand Canyon.

Continuing my interview with Don Overton we discuss the importance of the Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) and the numerous opportunities they offer to blind veterans.