Never Lose Vision

Losing sight is one thing. Losing vision is another.

Lauren Lamphier is 23 years old. She is a Sociology major at Plymouth State University. She loves hiking, kayaking, and snowboarding. She is legally blind. 

Lamphier was diagnosed with a rare form of Stargardt Disease in May. One in 10,000 people suffer from the same condition. Her body is unable to absorb Vitamin A. The excessive Vitamin A destroyed the rods and cones in her eyes. She can't see colors, and no longer has any central vision. Her only sight is peripheral, and that is only a blur.

"It changed everything," said Lamphier. She had to relearn everything as her eyes began to fail her. She was helped by the Foundation of the Blind in Concord, NH.  "A team of six people...have been teaching me how to function. They taught me mobility and how to eat. They've taught me everything," said Lamphier.

She is a fifth-year senior, but is aiming for May 2015 as her graduation date. She is limited to taking one or two classes a semester. "I don't really give a shit when I graduate, especially now. I'm lucky I'm here," said Lamphier, "I'm like the little engine that could." 

Lamphier is unable to read or write, and has learned to adapt her learning to audio. "I'm like a sponge...I can't see the PowerPoints. So, I just sit in class looking like I have my finger up my ass, but I'm actually listening," said Lamphier. 

She credits the PASS office at PSU for helping her with class work, specifically Janice Carlson. "She is an angel," said Lamphier, "She sits with me when I take tests and types for me."

She knows that her condition is uncommon, and knows that it creates challenges in the classroom. "Some of the teachers are very old-school," said Lamphier. "They look at me, and they're like, 'Oh, shit. Now we have to change our curriculums.'"

Her family has been very supportive, and Lamphier credits them for helping her get to and from their home in Holderness. She either stays there or in her dorm room in Mary Lyon that she shares with her sister, Rachel. 

Lamphier can easily be spotted on campus. "I always have my cane with me," said Lamphier. She can't see the ground, and relies on her cane to get around. 

"I'm going to get a seeing-eye dog...It can go everywhere with me, and it will be a lot more welcoming than this," said Lamphier, gesturing to her cane. "I'm very outgoing and talkative, but some people just don't...," said Lamphier, gesturing to her cane again. "People here aren't very receptive, kind of insensitive."

One of her biggest challenges at PSU is meeting new people. "I have to be attracted to who people are as a person....They can't be superficial," said Lamphier. She can't see faces and relies on voice recognition. Sometimes someone says hello to her and she isn't even sure if they were male or female. 

"I never thought something like this would ever happen to me....You can take something you have for granted...being healthy, and having all your senses," said Lamphier. 

When did she first start to notice her failing vision? "This is really embarrassing. I've had a lot of car accidents," said Lamphier. She backed into her brother's car in the driveway, was hit pulling into intersections, backed into a tree, was almost hit pulling out of her driveway, and busted a tire on a rock. "Probably a good thing I'm off the road," said Lamphier. 

She ignored her failing sight, hoping it would go away. Her vision progressively worsened and she went to Boston. She was diagnosed with a rare form of Stargardt Disease and told she would lose her sight. "I cried," said Lamphier. 

Daily life changed. She describes herself as laidback, but losing her sight has made it difficult. "I use to go with the flow, but now I get really pissed off when I lose things," said Lamphier, "There are sometimes when I come out of the bathroom and I don't know my pants are unzipped or my belt is unbuckled...I tell my mom that I'm 23 going on 89." 

She finds relief in hiking or boxing in her basement. "It's therapeutic," said Lamphier.

Lamphier wishes a few things could change at PSU. "I wish there was a Blind Student sign [at the crosswalks]. I was walking with my friend, Tom Rigley [who is also legally blind], and he joked, 'I wonder how someone's going to feel if they hit two blind people.'" 

Lamphier wants to council people with disabilities after she graduates. She describes it as a grieving process that even she isn't through yet. "I asked Tom, who is 42, 'When do you get over this?' He goes, 'Get back to me in a few years.'" She wants to help those who can't help themselves because she understands the ground they are standing on. 

Her sight is the only thing she has lost. Her humor is fun and positive. "I think it's kind of sexy, the whole blind thing," said Lamphier."You have to be really close and sense of touch is really strong for me." She isn't a blind girl. She is a 23-year-old girl who happens to be blind. 

Lamphier wants to use her passion for hiking to set up a charity hike to raise money for 20/20 VisionQuest, a charitable foundation founded by Randy Pierce, another blind hiker. "Randy has been very supportive," said Lamphier. "I want to hike all the 4,000 foot peaks in New Hampshire like him." 

Lamphier has to hike slowly with her cane, hiking stick, and a person both in front of and behind her. Like Pierce, she doesn't let her disability stop her. "There's this quote Randy told me," said Lamphier. "See vision without your eyes."