Tampa woman who lost vision teaches visually impaired wood turning
TAMPA, Fla. - A woman who lost her sight did not let that stop her from succeeding at learning and teaching others a new skill.
Andi Sullivan knows the importance of having your senses.
"When your sight impaired, your world becomes a little smaller," she shared.
Sullivan teaches students who are visually impaired.
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She was only 35, active, and a register nurse at a local hospital when she lost her vision.
"I didn't walk for three years," said Sullivan. "They said I'd never walk again. My right side was totally paralyzed."
So she took on change with tenacity, not self-pity.
Andi Sullivan was only 35 when her life drastically changed.
"I got in the pool, stayed there for three years and just kept in and out and slowly went to a wheelchair, then a walker, then a cane, and then on my own," Sullivan explained.
When she got back on her feet Sullivan, went to a school of the arts and learned a new skill, the art of wood turning.
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"I was the first blind student accepted there, and from there I was so empowered," Sullivan said.
Sullivan was so moved by the experience. She took her love of wood turning to Tampa's Lighthouse for the Blind.
There she teaches the skill to others with moderate to severe vision loss.
Tampa's Lighthouse for the Blind is where Sullivan teaches some of her students.
"I was hesitant myself about wood turning. But hey, as long as they were in, I was in," said Chelsea Bridges, Certified Vision Rehab Therapist. "But, I did get to make a pin with my knees shaking."
Sullivan has been teaching for more than a decade with touch, sound, and instinct guiding her fine craftsmanship.
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"It just feels so good to make something that you've done with your hands, and you just get very proud of it, too," said student Joni Martarella.
"It's a way of making something that I never thought I could do," another student, Equilla Hollis, shared.
The class makes custom pens to give to family and friends.
Sullivan now has 12 sites nationally. The program runs off donations. If you would like more information, click here.