PEOPLE

Students: Stories of Triumph

Meet Philip Kum


Do you ever catch yourself watching infomercials such as the one for the Ronco Food Dehydrator or that mini rotisserie oven thing? Who can flip the channel when there is now actually a way to make your own turkey jerky, or such catchy slogans as “Set it and forget it!” Anyways, this is not one of those. I was not paid, bribed, or threatened to write this.

About 2 years ago I was a regular college student with no vision problems other than having to wear geeky glasses most of the time. I was finishing my degree, working, and saving up for grad school. Everything was going great, but then a tumor was found in my noggin, and I lost most of my vision after the operation to remove the tumor. What followed were months of moping in bed while being “medicated”. I did not feel like eating, or even getting out of bed. I had to drop out of school, and my solitude drew me away from everyone I knew and loved. My savings were gone because of my medical bills. Everyday I woke up felt like I was falling into a nightmare. I did not do anything independently anymore because I thought there was no way for me to go back to the way I was.

So now I am back in school, have a new job I love, volunteer part-time, participate in sports every week, and make a mean batch of oatmeal raisin cookies. There are so many to thank for helping me dig my way out of the hole I was in, but The Hatlen Center had a big hand in pulling me off the ground. The way The Hatlen Center is setup in a regular apartment complex allows independence and great confidence building. The best way for me to describe The Hatlen Center experience would be calling it “real life Lite”. You live as you would in the real world; paying your own bills, interacting with sighted neighbors, setting up your utilities, and budgeting so you have enough money for food. On the other hand, there is the staff that will teach and guide you along every step at your own pace and needs. I have learned so much about adaptive technologies for the visually impaired, cooking, and cleaning and how to travel to wherever I need to go. Another great thing about The Hatlen Center is the relatively small size of the program. Staff and students all become family quickly, and everyone knows everyone.

I am so grateful and indebted to The Hatlen Center, but let’s go back to infomercials for a moment. I am sure you have all seen in some way or the other the quick-fix pill commercials, or the get-rich quick schemes. The Hatlen Center is no miracle factory . What I mean by that is there is no easy fix. I have worked hard to make the best of my situation and still get frustrated at times, but without all the awesome help along the way I would probably still be sitting in bed watching food dehydrate.