His Future Is Still Bright: Gage's Story with FAFTB

FAFTB Blog Header - Gage's Story

In 2024, Gage was a young man with a bright future. Then, a horrific car accident brought about a severe traumatic brain injury that caused vision loss.

First Aid for the Blind entered Gage’s life thanks to a referral from a state vocational rehabilitation specialist. In the training, Gage learned about useful tools and techniques to live life more independently.  

Gage is blessed with loving, attentive, and involved parents. His dad and step-mom came alongside their son to learn, adapt, and encourage.

Kurt Deichmann, president and CEO of First Aid for the Blind, said, “Seeing the whole family get involved and show their support for Gage was incredible! We loved working with all of them!”

In turn, Amanda said, “Kurt was amazing to work with! He kept it upbeat, realistic, and entertaining to learn. We felt like we had known him for years after our few days together, and since we completed the course, he has followed up to check in on Gage and how he is doing.”

She continued, adding, “FAFTB is so special because Kurt founded it, and he is someone who can truly understand the difficulties and challenges that come with new-onset vision loss. He can empathize and understand the frustrations a person can deal with almost constantly in the beginning, and he knows what skills and resources they need to navigate and live a happy, fulfilling life.”

Gage said that some of the most useful skills he learned in the training involved his iPhone. Amanda said it was challenging, but that now Gage and his parents are able to navigate accessibility tools on his phone with much greater ease.

“Technology is only becoming more and more relevant in daily life, so we really needed this!” said Amanda. “Our goal with FAFTB was to help Gage gain confidence with his phone and navigate our home life more independently. He has definitely reached more goals due to the program, and he will continue to advance. Learning life skills with vision loss through FAFTB has helped Gage gain independence, which, as a 20-year-old young man, is very important to him.”

Luckily, Gage’s future is still bright. When we last checked in with him, Gage and his dad were off on an adaptive ski trip in Colorado! With or without sight, Gage is clearly a smart and engaged learner who is capable of accomplishing great things in his life. We at FAFTB are just glad we could be part of his story.

To learn more about First Aid for the Blind’s life skills training for the blind and visually impaired, visit www.faftb.com/services.