“I was born with a rare condition called Achromatopsia.  I have peripheral vision but no central.  I see better in the dark, and I don’t see any colors.

My biggest challenge is finding a challenge.  But now, I would say my biggest is cross-country skiing.  I’ve been doing that for ten years.  So, you know, I mean I live in the south so how often do I get to.  There’s no cross-country skiing.  So I go once a year and ski with a group of blind skiers.  We just got back from Alaska.  I represented the United States in Norway in 2007.  We sent two skiers, and they sent me to represent the U.S.  I’m not good at skiing…I’m really good at falling down and getting up.

My grandmother was a woman ahead of her times.  She went to college in the early 1900’s when women didn’t go.  She’s always been an encouragement for me because she said, ‘You can do anything you want.‘  You know I can hear her…she still tells me that.

Keep going.  Don’t stop.  Just keep putting one foot in front of the other.  That’s what you do…just keep moving.”