Thanks Ben Underwood
For those of us who have experienced Retinoblastoma (RB) as children, there seems to be this automatic bond with other RB Survivors. Hearing someone else had a prosthetic eye was one thing, but finding out he or she too had this very rare form of childhood cancer, well that made you feel special, but not in a negative way. Before the internet, you could probably go a life time without meeting other RB Survivors outside of those who share your doctor.
When I first learned of Ben Underwood a few years ago I was interested in his use of echolocation to navigate. Ben, an RB Survivor with both eyes enucleated by age 3, learned to bounce sounds off objects as a way of improving his mobility. Ben’s abilities were on display on shows like Ellen and Oprah.
The use of echolocation in varying degrees is common among people in the blind community. Mostly using the tapping sounds of a white cane to gather additional information from surrounding areas and objects.
I was drawn to the positive message of Ben. Especially his determination to accomplish his personal goals. He was using his abilities rather than concentrating on what he could not do – which was simply see.
I learned of ben during a time in my life when I lost my remaining sight. I was dealing with the issues of mobility, accessibility and a strong desire to regain my independence. A fellow RB Survivor, younger than me was essentially saying all of this is achievable and through his actions, he made it look easy.
Watching a fellow cancer survivor go through it again brings out so many emotions. Some are probably obvious, while others are probably unique to the experience. A strong desire to encourage them to fight and never give up because that always seems like the natural thing to do. A win for them is a win for all. Similar to cheering on your favorite heavy weight boxer in the title fight. A fitting analogy, since both are not only physical but mainly mental battles.
But Ben didn’t lose, that young brother is definitely a winner. He didn’t lose his fight to cancer He went on to his next journey and we especially all of us RB Kids won a great lesson from Ben.
Thanks young Brother Ben!.