Rakisha Henry shares how sudden vision loss reshaped her career, parenting, and identity. A former educator and mother, she discusses retinal-detachment surgery, rebuilding independence, navigating workplace discrimination, learning Braille, and finding renewed confidence through community and advocacy.

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Key Takeaways

1. Rakisha lost vision in her left eye as a child and experienced a severe retinal detachment in her right eye at 31. Emergency surgeries restored limited, fluctuating vision, but she had to relearn how to navigate life, work, and parenting.

2. As a mother to a five-year-old at the time of her vision loss, Rakisha taught her daughter practical household skills while learning how to parent with changing vision. Her daughter, now 18, grew up understanding that blindness does not mean her mother cannot lead, support, or make things happen.

3. Rakisha continued working in special education after her vision loss and hoped to model possibility for students with disabilities. Later, changing staff attitudes and assumptions about blindness contributed to an increasingly difficult work environment and the loss of her job.

4. Through TWC and The Lighthouse, Rakisha accessed orientation and mobility training, assistive devices, magnification tools, an iPad, a laptop, and a growing blind-community network. These resources helped her rebuild confidence and plan for greater independence.

5. Rakisha hopes to return to work with children, become a business owner, and write children’s books in both print and Braille. Her message to others is simple: stay in it, keep moving, seek support, and do not accept “no” or “we can’t” as the final answer.