Twenty-year-old Jay Walker has been in and out of hospitals all her life. Despite her health challenges, Jay was a regular person enjoying life. But when she was 15, she almost died due to intense swelling and left the hospital blind. She endured being in a no man’s land during the years it took to find an effective medical treatment that would keep her undiagnosed problem with swelling from becoming another emergency. During this same time she completely rebuilt her life and identity from the inside out.

How did Jay cope with the adjustment to being blind? What dreams went up in smoke because of her new condition? What’s it do to your identity to have undiagnosable medical conditions? And what’s it like to be Patient Zero of a new presentation of a disease? Lastly, how can a blind person be so incredibly happy and optimistic about her life?! Find out in our interview!

Bio

I am a 20-year-old college student from Missouri getting my bachelors degree in gender and sexuality studies with a minor in anthropology. I am the host of the podcast Blind Dates w/ Jay Walker. We interview a variety of visually impaired and blind individuals about their life stories and careers as a way to create an environment for visually impaired people to feel heard. I plan on becoming a relationship and family therapist with a certification in sex therapy. I lost my vision when I was 15 years old. Since then I’ve dedicated my life to teaching other visually impaired people how to go on and live day to day.

Guest Info.

Instagram: the_real_J_WalkerPodcast: Blind Dates w/ Jay walker

Julie’s Info.

https://www.courage-ignite.com/

https://linkedin.com/in/julie-browne-courage-ignite

https://www.instagram.com/juliebrownecourageignite/

https://facebook.com/juliebrownecourageignite

Podcast — Bold Becoming

Book— Masters of Change— MOC-amazon

Music — Happy African Village by John Bartmann