{"id":42721,"date":"2016-06-10T09:36:17","date_gmt":"2016-06-10T14:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=42721"},"modified":"2016-06-10T09:36:17","modified_gmt":"2016-06-10T14:36:17","slug":"living-a-full-life-in-spite-of-being-blind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/living-a-full-life-in-spite-of-being-blind\/","title":{"rendered":"Living a full life in spite of being blind"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Iacopo Luzi <\/strong><\/p>\n

Maureen Reid, 44, lost her vision when she was 27 because of\u00a0 type 1 diabetes.<\/p>\n

Today she works as a job placement counselor at the Chicago Lighthouse, a non-profit organization that assists visually impaired people all over the country.<\/p>\n

She agreed to be followed by Medill Reports during the month of May. This photo essay shows how Reid lives a full life.<\/p>\n

\"Iacopo-Luzi_Photo-Story_-1\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
44-year-old Maureen Reid is blind. She lost her vision when she was 27 years old because of diabetes complications. Today she works at the Chicago Lighthouse, a non-profit that helps and assists visually impaired people. She is a job placement counselor. (Iacopo Luzi\/ MEDILL REPORTS) <\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Iacopo-Luzi_Photo-Story_2\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Gaston is Maureen’s best friend. He is a 19 month old Labrador. They spend 24 hours a day, seven days a week together. They came together two months ago and the dog still has a lot to learn about Maureen and her habits. (Iacopo Luzi\/ MEDILL REPORTS) <\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Iacopo-Luzi_Photo-Story_3\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\u201cI have a mental map inside my mind to figure out where I have to go and where I am. Even though my hearing is not excellent, I pay attention to all the sounds around me. And when I don\u2019t know where I am, I can always ask someone,\u201d says Maureen Reid. (Iacopo Luzi\/ MEDILL REPORTS) <\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Iacopo-Luzi_Photo-Story_4\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Maureen is married to Tom. They met each other on a dating website. \u201cOur first date was a blind date in every way,\u201d says Maureen laughing. During the weekend, Maureen and Tom go to Jewel Osco for their weekly grocery shopping. (Iacopo Luzi\/MEDILL REPORTS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Iacopo-Luzi_Photo-Story_5\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\u201cMy hands are my new eyes. With them I can perceive everything around me and understand where I am and what I am doing. I always prefer to use them because I can feel what I touch. I hate when people try to help me holding them. I know that they want to be kind with me but I\u2019m feeling like I lose control of myself,\u201d says Maureen Reid. (Iacopo Luzi\/ MEDILL REPORTS) <\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Iacopo-Luzi_Photo-Story_6\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Maureen and Tom go out for Trivia night every Monday. One of the games requires recognizing faces of famous people. Tom describes every face to Maureen and she is able to tell him who they are. They often win the Trivia game. (Iacopo Luzi\/MEDILL REPORTS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Iacopo-Luzi_Photo-Story_7\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Maureen likes to knit. On Sundays she goes to a knitting club hosted in a coffeehouse at Loyola. \u201cIt relaxes me and it\u2019s also a good moment for little talks with my friends\u201d, says Maureen Reid. (Iacopo Luzi\/ MEDILL REPORTS) <\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Iacopo-Luzi_Photo-Story_8\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\u201cEven though I lost my vision, I decided to live my life as much as I could. I didn\u2019t want to stay just at home crying for my condition. Obviously, sometimes it is tough, but being blind motivated me to go out from my comfort zone and change my life. In the end, It\u2019s never over, if you don\u2019t want! \u201d, says Maureen Reid. (Iacopo Luzi\/ MEDILL REPORTS) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n
Photo on top: Maureen together with her dog Gaston on the CTA (Iacopo Luzi\/MedillReports)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Iacopo Luzi Maureen Reid, 44, lost her vision when she was 27 because of\u00a0 type 1 diabetes. Today she works as a job placement counselor at the Chicago Lighthouse, a non-profit organization that assists visually impaired people all over the country. She agreed to be followed by Medill Reports during the month of May. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":247,"featured_media":42732,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,2582],"tags":[2279,2278,2909],"class_list":["post-42721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-interest","category-spring-2016","tag-blindness","tag-chicago-lighthouse","tag-maureen-reid","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"yoast_head":"\nLiving a full life in spite of being blind - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/living-a-full-life-in-spite-of-being-blind\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Living a full life in spite of being blind - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Iacopo Luzi Maureen Reid, 44, lost her vision when she was 27 because of\u00a0 type 1 diabetes. 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