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Camille and Jen O’Neill |
O’Neill — a patient care coordinator in the UNMC HIV Clinic — gave birth to premature triplets in 2004, and only one, her daughter Camille, survived. After Camille’s release from the hospital, her doctor discovered her retinopathy, an additional blow to the family.
O’Neill was referred to Hadley after a visit to Association of Retinopathy of Prematurity and Related Diseases (ROPARD)’s low vision resource center in Detroit. She enrolled in Hadley’s ‘Reach Out and Teach’ course for parents, and hasn’t looked back since.
“Never in my formal education have I encountered instructors so patient, kind, knowledgeable and willing to give of themselves,” O’Neill said of her Hadley teachers. “Little do they know that they have lifted me up when I was down. They have empowered me with information that I can use to advocate for Camille.”
O’Neill continues to take courses, enrolling in the family education program at Hadley, designed for parents and family members of people who are blind or visually impaired.
Her courses help her navigate challenges inherent in raising a visually impaired child, and in helping her to find possibilities for herself and her family.
The Hadley School for the Blind is an international distance education school offering programs to people who are blind or visually impaired, their families, and professionals working in the blindness field. Each year, more than 11,000 students in 110 countries and 50 states take courses from Hadley, studying in their homes at their own pace.