The Story Of a Blind and Disabled Jamaican Girl Who Still Manages to Inspire
If you think you were given a raw deal in life, read this young lady’s story!
19-year-old Kadian Monroe is blind and disabled and though she has been stricken by tremendous misfortune from the moment she entered this world, she maintains a positive outlook on life and aims to inspire others. We know we certainly have been inspired after reading what she shared.
Read her story that was recently submitted to us below and pass along to family and friends to share the inspiration 🙂
They often say that life is a gift and that you should live each day as your last.
But with all good things, there is a price to pay. And, pay I did! I was born prematurely at 7 months weighing two and a quarter pounds. Since I was so little, I had to be placed in an incubator in order to get oxygen to breathe.
There were four other babies in the incubator and I was the only one who survived simply because I received the most oxygen. I was in the hospital for over 6 months on a life machine with tubes attached to me. Thankfully, the nurses who tended to me took great care of me as I was also totally blind.
My doctors had their doubts over whether I would survive. Thankfully I’m still alive today but sometimes even the gift of life comes with a price. Due to the overdosage of oxygen, my eyes were severely damaged. Doctors said that it was just an accident, claiming they forgot to cover them while I was in the incubator. My parents received no compensation from the hospital and when I got older, I was told that I’d have to “deal with it”.
My parents didn’t realize I was blind until 7 months after my birth so it was too late for surgery. They didn’t even bother pressing charges, but according to my grandma by my dad’s side, I should be lucky I’m only blind because I should have died in that incubator.
I understand that circumstances get the best of us at times but imagine your own father telling you that he only provides for you simply because he feels sorry for you, or having a mother whocan be easily manipulated by the so called professionals at the school for the blind!
We only have one on the entire Island and it doesn’t cater for students with multiple disabilities. I live in a country where persons have never heard of club foot, retinopathy of prematurity, or even depression as a whole. Maybe they know what they are but are not familiar with the terms or do not take them very seriously.
I honestly don’t know if Jamaica will ever be developed in such a way where the blind are respected and as fortunate as those in places such as in the United States. Being blind from birth and retinopathy of prematurity is overlooked here mainly because many persons believe that it’s easier for us than those who were born with sight and lost it.
I’ve done my reading and research shows that ultimately it is harder to be blind from birth than losing your sight later on in life. When you don’t have the support, the technology, and the resources, you simply cannot function properly. This is the only life I’ve ever known, but that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with and if admitting that I can’t cope with blindness here makes me any less of a person, then I’m totally cool with that.
This is why I think it’s important that these issues be discussed, especially in developing countries like Jamaica. Many parents really don’t know or understand the challenges that await them so when they arise, these problems are ultimately ignored. I realized that I was really blind when I was around 13 years of age – – when I started mainstream school.
Maybe I always knew that I was different… Special, gifted even! But it was at this point that everything started making sense. I have club feet so I can’t walk in certain types of shoes or I get blisters on the sides of my feet. I can’t even wear contacts because my eyes weren’t fully developed at birth, but sadly, these problems weren’t looked into when I was born. I guess it was not noticed and when I got older, it was too late to really do anything about it. I don’t even think that schools do any evaluation to determine whether or not a child has multiple disabilities such as autism or a learning disorder.
At the end of the day, the child is the one who is usually blamed for not trying hard enough or they make petty excuses for their lack of willingness to genuinely care: I should know because I was a victim of this. Many of these challenges are overlooked or neglected, because, it is impossible to make everything out of little to nothing. There is no welfare for us and many families in the rural areas of Jamaica are living below the poverty line.
My reality is that even when the challenges are visible, if I don’t have a solution, then they won’t actually be resolved! My heart really goes out to persons who have a disability: autism, down syndrome, sensory processing disorder, echolalia… Sometimes, I think we try too hard to fit in with ignorant persons and society’s crazy expectations, but I know how negative stereotyping can affect a person physically and especially emotionally.
I know what it feels like to be bullied or to feel inferior to others, I know what it feels like to be embarrassed or just not have the will to go on anymore. I also know what it feels like to just be mentally drained to the point where you’re physically feeling sick, or the feeling that your entire world isn’t real anymore.
There are times when I just want to give up and call it quits! I’ve had days when I have wondered if what I’m experiencing is actually real, days when everything just seems so fake or ‘just not worth it.’ Even though my parents knew that I was getting bullied, nothing was really done about it though. When I was at the school for the blind, I was bullied but was told I had to stay there because it was for the best.
Public school isn’t free here and at the time, I wasn’t smart enough to think about suggesting transferring to a private school. Even if I did though, I doubt they would’ve taken this into consideration, not so much because of the money but they never really believed me to begin with and basically got frustrated and ignored it when they saw the reality.
I guess in their eyes, I just wasn’t good enough to deserve any better because according to them, it was always my fault that I got bullied in the first place. I wasn’t the most productive, smartest, or logical thinker. Neither was I the most favourable person to be around. I always had to do more because, try as I might, I was just not good enough.
Blindness for me contributes to just about every aspect of my life, and my parents physically provide for me but they lack emotional support.
This world is filled with so many beautiful and inspiring people, but often times, we fail to see that. We are so concerned with physical appearances that we have failed to see what is beyond that! Regardless of my disability, I want to be treated like a human being, I mean having someone bump into objects on purpose is just plain mean. Imagine if somebody gave you a bottle filled with dirty water and stuffed a bag with paper, and said it was patty and soda. Or, getting labelled an outcast by the blind population because you think and process information differently than they do!
It’s sad though because I have friends from America who say they don’t want welfare stating it is pity money or that they’re just getting too much help from the government.
Everyone has their own personal battles to fight and this is mine. I carry around a heavy classic Perkins Brailler (a typewriter with a key corresponding to each of the six dots of the braille code) every day but yet still, I’m called lazy!
I try so hard to ignore certain persons and to enlighten them about my disability and eye condition, but I’m still considered ignorant and a dreamer. I have tried to do as much as I can with the little that I have, my cane, my brailler and my iPhone which is by far the most efficient and accessible technology I own.
How hard can a person try before they lose it? I mean, we’re all human beings and we all make mistakes but I don’t think that I should have to pay for being human. I have been done many injustices and I have gotten no compensation for them, from friends, family, teachers and classmates but for that, I’m thankful.
After all, without it, I probably wouldn’t have a story to share in hopes of inspiring others and more importantly, inspire myself to do so much better.
I might just be 19 years old but I want better for myself and I know it’s possible with the help of Jesus Christ. Besides, I still have to visit the Ellen show, hang out with Justin Bieber, meet my favorite voice actress Brittney Karbowski and take a trip to Disney World.
If you are completely sighted or have some usable vision, enjoy those beautiful things around you, like the sun, moon, the stars, the sky and the ocean. Enjoy looking at the beautiful faces of those who you love and of those who accept the person that you are.
If you’re totally blind and you have opportunities, then take them! Remember though, not all chances are worth taking, you don’t need to prove to society that you’re an amazing person. Only you can really know who you really are so just continue to be yourself and let your beauty shine within you.
Download The Jamaican Blogs™ App for your Android device: HERE
Remember to share this article on Facebook and other Social Media Platforms. To submit your own articles or to advertise with us please send us an EMAIL at: [email protected]