Strabismus got you down? This will lift you up!
Written on December 1, 2007 – | by Lois (admin)
Brett shared the url to this video in our Eyes Apart Strabismus Support group recently. Brett writes, “If strabismus seems like a barrier to living our dreams and gaining acceptance, just imagine the hurdles these two beautiful dancers have managed to overcome.”
The ballet “Hand in Hand” is performed by Ma Li and Zhai Xiaowei, who lost limbs in separate auto accidents.
Ma, who lost her arm when she was 19, says, “It’s the power of love and the strength of joining hands, which keeps us persevering.”
Zhai was only 4 years old when he lost his leg. The determination, strength, and grace he displays reminds us that we are only as handicapped as we allow ourselves to be.
You can read more about these inspiring dancers at the links below:
2 Responses to “Strabismus got you down? This will lift you up!”
By Nick on Feb 22, 2008 | Reply
I think this is very inspiring !,I’m only 18 and strasbismus has honestly almost driven me mad .
I cope much better with it now but it’ll never go completley .You always have to think how much worse off you could be ,at least you can still see ,at least we still have our arms and legs .Also one problem I had was that I thought that I was in some way inferior to everyone else .
Imagine walking down a street and you see someone with no legs .You don’t judge them as a person if anything you admire them .Its only immature and empathic people who make fun and laugh.
Anyway I hope this helps you in some way ,looking at it from this point of view certainly helped me . After all its only another of life’s obsticles.
Nick
By Johnny Vargas on Apr 25, 2008 | Reply
Very inspiring to watch that video.
Makes strabismus seem like an elbow scratch.
My son has strabismus and after 4 surgeries his alignment is within a range that is not noticeable to an untrained eye.
He is a strong and confident child and loves attention. Treated for his condition as a young child, when people stared at him he smiled nice and wide with his beautiful crossed-eyes. As the saying goes…. “it was harder on us that it was on him.”
- Johnny Vargas
(author of “Our Journey with Strabismus” a resource for parents of children with strabismus)