Usher Type 3A
Madeline
My name is Madeline and I am 52 years old. I was diagnosed with Usher 3a at around age 11. I had started wearing hearing aids as a 9-year-old and had a somewhat distant relative with Usher, so when my vision issues emerged, I went to Johns Hopkins for testing and was diagnosed with RP/Usher. My hearing loss and vision loss both progressed at a steady, but reasonably slow pace through my teens and twenties. I graduated from college (spent a year in France during that time and had cataract surgery on both eyes my senior year), worked for a year doing international human rights work, and then went to law school. I did not take advantage of accommodations until law school when I sometimes used a notetaker which was very helpful. I have done indigent defense work for the bulk of my legal career. After a few years in big law firms, I was an Assistant Federal Public Defender in Denver from 2002-2015 and then opened my own small practice. For the past 18 or so years I have mainly handled death penalty cases in post-conviction and on appeal, as well as in clemency. In addition to my legal practice, I provide consulting and strategic communications support to attorneys in death penalty cases around the country. I now have two cochlear implants, which are amazing, but my vision has deteriorated to the point that I use a white cane when I travel and need to rely on help pretty often. I ski (in a blind vest), rock climb, bike (on a tandem), do CrossFit, and generally stay active and independent. My husband and I have a 15-year-old son and live in Boulder, Colorado.
2023.5
