Nasir Khali

Disability is not Inability

I became a resident of the World on February 20th, 1995, in Kenya. I enjoyed playing with my friends, and exploring adventures in my life. When I was three-years-old, I enrolled in Kindergarten where I continued to build relationships with new friends and extended family.

After two years, opportunities came knocking and I moved to the United Kingdom with my family for a stable life. I successfully completed my Kindergarten education and I got enrolled in Elementary school. When I turned seven-years-old, I begun to experience challenges with my eyesight. Some of the early signs included short-sightedness, difficulty reading books with small letters, and mild headaches.

Frustration bubbled up, because as a child I couldn’t understand why I was not able to do what my age mates were doing. My parents got very concerned, so I was referred to an Optometrist for them to find out what was the issue. The medical examination and test results revealed that I had a non-cancerous benign brain tumour in the optic nerves, and diagnosed with a spontaneous condition called Neurofibromatosis (Type 1).

Consultations with the medical team followed, in an effort to safeguard my eyesight. I was put on Chemotherapy treatment to shrink and prevent the tumour from growing. After each treatment I experienced pain, fatigue, nausea and I was hospitalized intermittently. I developed a strong sense of fear when deeply thinking about what my life would be like in the future.

Unfortunately, in the course of the treatment I became visually impaired when I was nine-years-old. Losing my eyesight was a difficult diagnosis to accept. My eyes welled up in tears and I became apprehensive for my future. I pulled myself from these feelings, because I had to accept my new reality with the support of my family and Church community.

I’m a Christian. Faith has been the element that has helped me get through the pathway in times of darkness. Faith has also given me strength in times of weakness.

Though I lost my eyesight, I cherish the memories of the World, what my environment is all about, animals, plants, colours, and people. When I became visually impaired, I embarked on the journey of learning how to use different accessibility tools. For example, I learnt how to use a laptop installed with screen reader software called JAWS Professional.

This helps me with internet research, typing information, and communication. I also learnt Braille, which I find useful when taking down notes and reading books with the raised dots. Furthermore, I was trained how to use a cane as it helps me with mobility to feel out my environment, and detect obstacles around me.