Putting life into perspective
Kyle Bodin was living the American Dream. He had recently graduated from Longmont University in Virginia, and landed a finance job at IBM. Life was going great for him, but in November 2014, his life took an unexpected turn.
One year ago, Bodin was diagnosed with Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy, otherwise known as LHON. LHON is a hereditary vision impairment in which those who are diagnosed lose their central vision. LHON is very rare, with only about 35,000 people diagnosed with it worldwide. It is more common in males than in females for unknown reasons. Unlike other visual impairments, LHON is not noticeable, and it does not even look like the person who has it is blind at all. Symptoms usually begin in one eye, and then gradually to move to the other eye several weeks or months later.
“At first I thought this is just what people go through when their eyes need glasses,” Bodin stated.
Five months later, Bodin had lost all of his central vision. While at college, Bodin played four years of Division 1 golf and was lucky enough to have a scholarship.
“I’m lucky that I went through college without this happening beforehand because with my disease, it usually happens in the 16 to 18 range, so I was fortunate in that aspect,” Bodin stated.
His life was pretty great, and learning how to live his life completely different would be hard. Although losing most of his vision was difficult for Bodin, the hardest part was the transition.
“It was tougher for me because it was gradual. It was fast, but gradual. I started losing vision in one eye, and I could still legally drive, which was a weird part. After that, I had to end up selling my car, and I started losing my left eye, and it was only a matter of time…when it actually happened, it was kind of all right. It was like, what can I do now?” Bodin stated.
After being diagnosed with LHON, Bodin was determined to adjust to his new lifestyle. He had to make some simple changes such as having his phone speak to him, or even his computer. He even saw up to 10 doctors a week just to figure out how to do normal things again, but in different ways.
“You have to re-learn everything over again. Using a computer, using your phone. You can adapt to everything, you just have to learn how,” Bodin stated.
The United States Association of Blind Athletes, otherwise known as USABA, was able to give Bodin the opportunity to snowboard again. USABA is an organization based in Colorado whose goal is to provide a variety of sports to the visually impaired. Bodin had been snowboarding since he was 4 years old, and he was eager to get back out on the slopes. This past weekend, March 2nd through the 5th, was Bodin’s first time snowboarding since his vision impairment.
USABA’s event was located in Breckenridge, Colorado, and was sponsored by Anthem Blue Cross. Not only did athletes have the chance to share their stories, but sponsors also had the opportunities to ski with the athletes.
Valerie Pfeiffer, a sponsor of the event, was able to ski with Bodin, and learn about what he had to go through this past year. She was amazed with his abilities, and it was inspiring to her.
“I thought he had a great attitude considering what he has faced in the last year. He was very positive I thought, and he was dealing with it in a very positive way,” Pfeiffer stated.
Bodin is originally from Austin, Texas, so to attend USABA’s event, he had to travel by plane for the first time being visually impaired. It was Bodin’s first time traveling alone since he lost his vision, so he needed assistance with things most people take for granted like reading the gates.
“It was definitely different. I can’t read gates or anything, so it’s like, ok how do I do this? You have to wait for someone to assist you and things like that. I’ve only been in Denver airport a couple of times, and coming from Austin which has the tiniest airport, it’s unbelievable,” Bodin stated.
Not only did Bodin have to face Denver International Airport, but he also had to take the bus from the airport to Breckenridge by himself. This was a struggle for him because he had not even had to do this when he could see, and now he had to try and navigate being visually impaired.
“it’s hard because I don’t look visually impaired, so people have no idea. I bring up this piece of paper, and I ask them if they can read it for me, and they kind of look at you like, ‘what do you want?’ So, it’s different, but you get over it,” Bodin stated.
Although Bodin had been skiing for most of his life, he was nervous to come back and start again. At first, Bodin fell a few times, but after awhile, he started to get the hang of it. Soon enough, if someone were to see Bodin snowboarding down the slopes, they probably would not have known he was blind.
“We got on a green slope, and we kind of had to get the feet warmed up, and it was good, it was nice to be back because it was something I had always been really passionate about, and to think a year ago I would’ve never thought I would be doing this right now, and just to know that people are doing this with no vision at all, is like, ‘well, I can do this,’ so it’s been amazing,” Bodin stated.
Pfeiffer was very impressed with how well Bodin could snowboard. He had a guide, but it seemed like he hardly even needed her.
“If it wasn’t for the orange bib he had to wear, I would not have known he was blind. We were able to ski with him, and he could keep up. We were amazed with how well he could do,” Pfeiffer stated.
While on his trip, Bodin was able to talk to the other blind athletes and hear their stories. He was amazed how people who were totally blind were not only skiing, but playing other sports outside of this event such as hockey, soccer, baseball, and basketball. Bodin still has his peripheral vision, so this really put things into perspective for him.
“Stuff like this is really in inspirational because the guys I’ve been talking to, I mean I’m really athletic, and I do a lot of sports and stuff like that, but I get here and talking to these guys, they do just about everything you can imagine. It’s amazing that people do all this still. Like I said most my friends back home are lazy compared to these people, and you take a lot for granted until you lose something very significant, and you have to make the best out of it, and I know I try to everyday and I know these guys do and its definitely motivating,” Bodin stated
Although Bodin is now visually impaired, he has learned that there are many more positives than negatives to his situation. Although he is blind, he can still do basically anything he wants to do. For his 24th birthday, Bodin was able to go skydiving, something most people who can actually see won’t even dare to do.
“I’m getting back into some crazy stuff too. I mean it was good, I couldn’t see the ground, it was great. You have a lot more fun doing stuff you have no idea about, and a lot of the time you don’t even need vision,” Bodin stated.
USABA’s event was an unforgettable experience for Bodin, and it has inspired him to keep living his life as if he has no visual impairment at all.
“This has been the best experience of my life. It has motivated me to do better every single day,” Bodin stated.
Bodin has learned that his visual impairment is no burden at all, rather it has changed his life for the better.
“If anything my life’s gotten a lot more interesting and a lot better. I had a good life before, but just like the opportunities that you get introduced to is an amazing thing so, its definitely changed in a good way, and I see it as a positive thing and not as a negative thing because its something you cant change and you have to deal with. It’s been good,” Bodin stated.
