The passengers on
the bus watched sympathetically as the attractive young
woman with the white cane made her way carefully up the steps. She paid the
driver and, using her hands to feel the location of the seats, walked down
the aisle and found the seat he'd told her was empty. Then she settled in,
placed her briefcase on her lap and rested her cane against her leg.
It had been a year since Susan, thirty-four,
became blind. Due to a medical
misdiagnosis she had been rendered sightless, and she was suddenly thrown
into a world of darkness, anger, frustration and self-pity. Once a fiercely
independent woman, Susan now felt condemned by this terrible twist of fate
to become a powerless, helpless burden on everyone around her. "How could
this have happened to me?" she would plead, her heart knotted with anger.
But no matter how much she cried or ranted or prayed, she knew the painful truth her sight
was never going to return. A cloud of depression hung over Susan's once optimistic spirit.
Just getting through each day was an exercise in
frustration and exhaustion. And all she had to cling to was her husband Mark.
Mark was an Air Force officer and he loved Susan with all of his heart. When
she first lost her sight, he watched her sink into despair and was
determined to help his wife gain the strength and confidence she needed to
become independent again. Mark's military background had trained him well to
deal with sensitive situations, and yet he know this was the most difficult
battle he would ever face. Finally, Susan felt ready to return to her job,
but how would she get there? She used to take the bus, but was now too
frightened to get around the city by herself.
Mark volunteered to drive her to work
each day, even though they worked at
opposite ends of the city. At first, this comforted Susan and fulfilled
Mark's need to protect his sightless wife who was so insecure about
performing the slightest task. Soon, however, Mark realized that this
arrangement wasn't working - it was hectic, and costly. Susan is going to
have to start taking the bus again, he admitted to himself. But just the
thought of mentioning it to her made him cringe. She was still so fragile,
so angry. How would she react? Just as Mark predicted, Susan was
horrified at the idea of taking the bus again. "I'm blind!" she responded
bitterly.
"How am I supposed to know where I'm going? I feel like you're abandoning me."
Mark's heart broke to hear these words, but he knew what had to be done. He
promised Susan that each morning and evening he would ride the bus with her,
for as long as it took, until she got the hang of it. And that is exactly
what happened. For two solid weeks, Mark, military uniform and all,
accompanied Susan to and from work each day. He taught her how to rely on her other
senses, specifically her hearing, to determine where she was and how to adapt to her new
environment. He helped her befriend the bus drivers who could watch out for her, and save
her a seat. He made her laugh, even on those not-so-good days when she would trip
exiting the bus, or drop her briefcase. Each morning they made the journey together,
and Mark would take a cab back to his office. Although this routine was even more costly
and exhausting than the previous one, Mark knew it was only a matter of time before Susan
would be able to ride the bus on her own. He believed in her, in the Susan he used to know
before she'd lost her sight, who wasn't afraid of any challenge and who would never, ever
quit.
Finally, Susan decided that she was ready to try the trip on her own Monday
morning arrived, and before she left, she threw her arms around Mark, her
temporary bus riding companion, her husband, and her best friend. Her eyes
filled with tears of gratitude for his loyalty, his patience, his love. She said good-bye,
and for the first time, they went their separate ways. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday... Each day on her own went perfectly,
and Susan had never felt better. She was doing it! She was going to work
all by herself! On Friday morning, Susan took the bus to work as usual. As
she was paying for her fare to exit the bus, the driver said, "Boy, I sure
envy you." Susan wasn't sure if the driver was speaking to her or not. After all, who
on earth would ever envy a blind woman who had struggled just to find the courage to live
for the past year? Curious, she asked the driver, "Why do you say that you envy
me?" The driver responded, "It must feel so good to be taken care of and
protected like you are." Susan had no idea what the driver was talking about, and
asked again, "What do you mean?" The driver answered, "You know, every
morning for the past week, a fine looking gentleman in a military uniform has been
standing across the corner watching you when you get off the bus. He makes sure you cross
the street safely and he watches you
until you enter your office building. Then he blows you a kiss, gives you a
little salute and walks away. You are one lucky lady." Tears of happiness poured
down Susan's cheeks. For although she couldn't physically see him, she had
always felt Mark's presence. She was lucky, so lucky, for he had given her
a gift more powerful than sight, a gift she didn't need to see to believe -
the gift of love that can bring light where there had been darkness.
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