Imagine if you can, losing one of your senses, specifically the gift of sight. In fact, close your eyes right now and think how your sight affects how you respond to your world; how your life would change if it was gone. Carrie Morales, of Lewisville, doesn’t have to imagine the loss of her sight; she deals with very limited sight daily; she has been legally blind since birth. Facing every day with limited vision isn’t Carrie’s only challenge; her husband, Pablo, is blind as is her two-year-old son, Pablo Jr. If you think that life is void of joy and color in the Morales’ home, dealing with the daily challenges, you would be very wrong.
Finding the “Ability” in a “Disability”
Carrie Morales was born in Manila, Philippines, to a family dealing with disabilities. Carrie and her sister were diagnosed with Aniridia, which was passed down from their paternal grandmother, leaving both girls legally blind, as is their father. Carrie’s brother was born deaf after their mother contracted German Measles while she was pregnant. “My parents knew that our opportunities in the Philippines would be limited, so we moved to the states when I was three years old, eventually finding our way to Winston-Salem in 2012. I started working at Industries for the Blind in the low vision center, assisting people in learning how to live with limited sight. I met my husband, Pablo, at work; he was in Human Resources and had been blind since the age of 26. Pablo has always been a Type 1 diabetic and had issues with his kidneys and pancreas because of the disease. A native of Venezuela, Pablo lost his sight after being treated at a hospital, where he experienced an accidental overdose of Heparin, taking his sight within 12 hours. He moved to the states for care. Pablo is very resilient and is a fighter, but there was nothing that could be done to restore his sight,” said Carrie. Pablo and Carrie got married and added Pablo, Jr. to their family two years ago. Their young son was born with Aniridia like Carrie. Most people would not be able to see a positive in facing the obstacles that Carrie and her family have every day, but Carrie and Pablo see things differently than most.
“Sometimes when you are faced with a disability, you think your life is over, but it’s not,” said Carrie. “There are millions with limitations, but with today’s resources, support and technology available, you can do anything. Life can be frustrating every day for my family, from finding transportation to everyday tasks. We have access to public transportation and have family that helps us, but you sometimes feel like you are imposing. Uber and ride share are also ways we get around. It can be difficult, but the perceptions that others have of those with disabilities are worse than the daily challenges we have. I look different, my eyes are smaller and constantly move, which I can’t control and people talk behind my back and in front of it, not understanding that if I look like I’m staring, I don’t know it. People think we are less capable because we are blind and often think we are deaf, too because they talk louder when they know I’m blind. The perception of possible employers is usually that having a disability limits your productivity, and they focus on the disability and not on our accomplishments.” Dealing with living blind in a sighted world has brought Carrie and Pablo to an acceptance of their situation.
You Don’t Have to Be Able to See to Make a Difference
“Pablo and I have a choice to either sit and be depressed about being blind, or we can step up and realize that God gave us what He did and we can use our disability to help others,” said Carrie. “You and I may not get from point A to point B in the same way, but I will get there. Pablo and I founded LiveAccessible, a YouTube Channel, as well as a blog and social media outlet, to promote assisted technology and accessibility to the visually impaired or their sighted supporters. We have an opportunity, not a struggle. We choose to see the other side of what we have; making a difference in lives.” Through her volunteer work with Captivating Magazine as a writer, Carrie also shares the latest in technology for anyone with a disability, from blindness to autism to deafness and beyond.
It’s not to say that Carrie doesn’t have bad days. “You’re going to have bad days, everyone does, but you can get through those times,” she said. “Whatever you’re going through, don’t let it define you. We are more than our blindness, and choosing to help others is our way of taking our situation and making our life and the lives of others better.”
To learn more about LiveAccessible, visit LiveAccessible.com. Visit LiveAccessible on YouTube and follow Carrie on Instagram @LiveAccessible, Twitter @LiveAccessible.
