 michael g. "mike" may (born 1954) is an american business executive, skier and enthusiast of other sports who was blinded by a chemical explosion at the age of three, but regained partial vision in 2000, at the age of 46, after cornea transplants and a pioneering stem cell procedure by san francisco ophthalmologist, daniel goodman. in 1999, may founded the sendero group in davis, california, united states (us), which employs many individuals who are blind or visually impaired. sendero has assisted those with sight disabilities by producing the first accessible gps solution for blind persons. the sendero group's gps technology received the consumer electronics show's "innovation honoree" title in 2004 and 2009. among his many accomplishments, may holds the record for downhill skiing by a person who is completely blind (racing at 65&nbsp;mph). he competed in the alpine skiing event at the 1984 winter paralympics and won three bronze medals in the downhill, giant slalom, and combination events. may and his ex-wife, jennifer, have two sons, carson and wyndham. ==recovery from blindness== in 2003, three years after may's eye operation, the results were mixed. in terms of challenges, may reported being unable to grasp three-dimensional vision and to recognize members of his family by their faces alone. the effect of visual loss affects the development of the visual cortex of the brainâthe visual impairment causes the occipital lobe to lose its sensitivity in perceiving spatial processing. sui and morley (2008) proposed that following seven days of visual deprivation, a potential decrease in vision may occur. they also found an increasing degree of visual impairment following thirty-day and 120-day periods of deprivation. the sui and morley study suggests that the function of the brain is dependent upon visual input. may lost his eyesight at the age
1954_births Alpine_skiers_at_the_1984_Winter_Paralympics American_male_alpine_skiers Blind_people_from_the_United_States Living_people Medalists_at_the_1984_Winter_Paralympics Paralympic_alpine_skiers_of_the_United_States Paralympic_bronze_medalists_for_the_United_States