The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1926-06-04
BLIND, HE.cOULD
SEE THINGS; SEES,
NOW SHE'S BLIND
Girl Terrified as Knife Re-
stores Sight After Life
Darkness.
COPYRIGHT, 1926. MA scrric,


LAKEWOOD, Ohio, June 4.-Wben
8 Octa Sherry. was blind she could
see. Now shat Octa Sherry can see
she is blind.
This, in short is the strange
story of slim, bob haired girl of
IS who had walked all the years of
her life in darkness, until the wiz
ardry of a surgeons knife brought
the yellow sunlight of day flooding
into the black caverns of night
where she had lived for quarter
of century.
And with this thing called sight
comes terror to the girl, who though
blind, saw-saw with fingers and
ears as keen as the eyes of most
II am afraid" shudders the blind
girl who now can see.
Terrible Apparitions
She is afraid of automobiles that
chug down upon her like monsters
in the fairy tales, afraid of trains
that spout fire-like dragons of which
SIG AldS eau ny VI
raised type and sensitive finger tips.
And, in fact, until someone tells
25-year- old Octa that trains are
trains and automobiles are only that,
she fears that they are indeed mon
sters or things terrible that mortals
do not ordinarily see.
But one ray of hope shines through
upon her, and that is the hope that
now she may be self-supporting and
not burden to the parents and
brothers and sisters who have
helped her along all these years.
Last week. she tells you proudly,
1000 towels for the Ford factory,
and that means SIS.
Perhaps it will grow in time"
says Octa bravely, unconsciouely
closing her eyes seeing" things
and people in the dear old familiar
way Of sight" through touch and
sound.
Realities Less Lovely
Thus does one Of the worlds very
few blind people who, after so many
years Of darkness, regain sight
shatter the fairy tale which always
read land so the blind were made
to see and did shout with joy and
laugh to see the moon and stars
Octa Sherry had never seen
moon and star, sunset or sunrise
bird or blossom, but the realities are
no more than the things she saw
in her world Of darkness.
First of ALL" says she, peering
into the glass, 1.-The sight Of my face
startled me- l thought L was
rather pretty. Now L know I'm not
Her mothers face was the first
thing Octa wanted to see when the
surgeons bandages were removed
II could hardly believe it was my
mother" says Octa. 81 had always
been told that peoples faces were
white I thought that really meant
as white as sugar or soap is. And
] thought lips were very red-like
these tulips in the yard-but people
are not white at all"
rettleSt.-DdnOeuOnS
And what seems most beautiful OF
all to a human being who for %
years has seen no. rose, no bright
hued bird, no sunset, no noon, nc
fields of green?
"Dandelons, says Octa. who
picks the great yellow flowers con
stantly in these newfound days OF
sight. 'They are the most beautiful
things / have seen"
Octa has lived for twenty-five
years with her father and mother
her sisters and brothers. and fol
several years with little nieces an6
nephews.
Now that she can see, she does not
know them, with her eyes open. II
is only when she closes her eyes
after failing to recognize mother OF
father. only when they speak OF
move about or are touched by her
that she knows them for the familiar
parent or brother or sister.
Octa herself realizes now how i'm
perfect have been the images formed
by words. For instance, they told
her that a flag was red and had
stripes. When Octa saw a small
red-backed comb on the first few
days when she had her sight, she i'm
Snediately called it flag. 1t was
red and the teeth might be con
sidered stripes.
Seeing With Her Hands
"Octa, please give me that. pan,
said sister The pan was directly
before Octa. But she did not know
It for what it was. Only with eyes
closed and fingers outstretched die
she 'see" and find the pan.
"But I will learn to see like other
people" she says, chin firm, a BIZ
OF terror in her eyes. II must
DR.. l.. E. Grant of Detroit gave
sight to the blind girl-or blindness
to the seeing girl, if you prefer il
that way. There will be more opera
lions before the surgeon is through
The Mason-Dixon line took Its
name from two astronomers an6
mathematicians who were sent from