HER ETERNAL GLORY

HER  ETERNAL GLORY

 “JUST A FEW YEARS AGO, I’D NEVER EVEN SEEN A STAR. NOW, WHEN I LOOK UP IN THE SKY, I CAN SEE SOME OF THE BIGGER STARS. IT’S AMAZING.”

                            This is what you’ll probably say when you get your vision back. This was quoted by an American Paralympic Swimmer Trischa Zorn Hudson after her sight was improved. Meet Trischa Zorn, born without irises and was hence blind by birth. She was born on June 1, 1964 in Orange, California.

                            Trischa began swimming at the age of 10 at the  Mission Viejo Nadadores swim club in Southern California. and just six years later made her Paralympic debut at the Arnhem 1980 Paralympic Games in the Netherlands. She won seven gold medals in her debut Paralympic games and set three world records. Thereafter, she went on further to create numerous records  and today she is regarded as the most successful and decorated Paralympians ever. The American competed at seven Paralympic Games between 1980 and 2004 and won an incredible 55 medals  (41 gold, nine silver and five bronze). She competed in Paralympic swimming (S12, SB12 and SM12 disability categories). She was inducted into the Paralympic Hall of Fame in 2012.

                            Her contributions were not just restricted to the pool , She wanted to educate and motivate the disabled people in the United States. She wanted that all of them should find the purpose of their life and work accordingly and strive for excellence. She is seen as a guiding source of light for the blind in the United States. She has taught for ten years since 2001 in Indianapolis Public schools as an Elementary Education Major (Special Education). She developed an Inclusionary Model to help students integrate with regular classroom experience and advance the opportunities and experiences of children with special needs.

                           In a popular interview to the Los Angeles Times in 1995 , Trischa Zorn said, “I thought with what I have overcome with my disability that if I could just reach these children in the inner city … that I could be a good role model for them and that would satisfy me.” In 1993, she was named female athlete of the year by the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes, and in 1994 was named one of the nation’s top 10 female athletes of the year by the USOC. Eighteen years later, in 2012, she was inducted as the first American woman into the Visa Paralympic Hall of Fame. She even has a national award by her name. The United States awards the annual Trischa L. Zorn award to the swimmer with disability who has achieved national or international excellence. She ended her career on a winning note in 2004 Paralympic games held at Athens, Greece.

                       She is the first congenital disabled person in the United States to undergo an artificial iris implantation. Her vision improved significantly after the surgery and saw the world for the first time. With her vision being accelerated continuously, she went on to become a lawyer and completed her Juris Doctor degree from the Indiana Law University in 2005. When asked about her charity work she says that she always wanted to affect  people’s life positively and that was her passion. She also served as the USABA on Board of Directors from 2005 to 2016 and currently is working as an attorney for the Department of Veterans Affairs in the Fiduciary Unit.

                            Trischa Zorn can be seen as one of the most successful blind person in the recent times. She has shown us that with a strong will one can achieve what once seemed impossible. She can be seen as a shining star, a star unaware of its eternal glory which is a source of inspiration for us.                        

-       Shreyas J Kadam.