The Usher Syndrome Blog is About to Get Even Better
May 24, 2013
by Mark Dunning
Four years and nearly 150 posts ago, the Usher Syndrome Blog was launched with the following paragraph:
"It feels terribly presumptuous to believe that anyone would care what I was up to, but I know that I have found great solace in knowing that someone, anyone, was working on something, anything, that might move us toward a cure. So I'll post notes on what I hear and what I know about Usher syndrome research and hopefully that brings a little light in to lives of those coping with the diagnosis. We could all use a little hope."
It was, of course, very presumptuous to believe that I could report on the science of Usher. I can write about hope. And if you want heartfelt mumblings on the impact of the diagnosis on a family, I’m your man. But if you want actual facts, well, um, yeah. Fact has never been my strong suit. Fortunately, a mere four months after we launched, Jennifer Phillips answered my plea for an articulate expert to decipher the science I was mostly botching. Thankfully she still hasn’t come to her senses.
But here we are four years later and the blog is still missing two key pieces. We need the perspective of someone living with Usher, not just an observant family member such as me. And though Jennifer and I have the United States pretty well covered (I am a proud New Englander and Jennifer is a West Coaster from Oregon), we still lack a regular international contributor.
That will all change now that Kate Morell will be joining us as a regular contributor to the Usher Syndrome Blog. Kate is a married mum living in Melbourne Australia. She has two children, ages 3 and 6, and faces all the normal life problems that married mums face. However, Kate also faces those challenges while living with Usher Syndrome: severe hearing loss and legal blindness. Before having children, Kate worked as a Graphic Designer and travelled extensively across Europe, including working in London for two years.
Oh, and she’s also a wonderful writer, as you’ll see. Her first post, a reaction to my recent post about my daughter’s vision test, will soon follow. I know you’ll enjoy it.
Please join me in welcoming Kate!
