DN62: He set a world speed record for a blind skier, lived in a remote village in Ghana, worked as a spy for the CIA, and had a procedure done that restored some of the vision he lost in a chemical accident at age 3. For Mike May, life has been an adventure and a constant effort to live on the edge. In his 2007 book entitled Crashing Through; A True Story of Risk, Adventure and the Man Who Dared to See, Robert Kurson tells the true story of Mike May and his greatest risk and adventure, the possibility of regaining his vision.

This episode of DisabilityNation features an interview with Mike May. He discusses the procedure he had, the results and how suddenly having vision has impacted his life. You can read the New York Times review of Crashing Through here.

Also on this episode; on May 1, the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet heard testimony from a number of individuals regarding proposed draft legislation called the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act. The draft legislation seeks to amend the Communications Act – the statute that impacts the telephone and video programming industries – to add new consumer protections that will ensure people with disabilities do not get left out or left behind as telephones and television programming increasingly rely on digital and Internet Protocol (IP) technologies. The proposals will allow greater numbers of people with disabilities to become independent and productive members of society, as well as to enjoy all the new electronic gadgets and devices that everyone else takes for granted.

This episode of DisabilityNation features testimony given at the hearing by Sergeant Major Jesse Acosta on behalf of the American Council of the Blind. Acosta had a distinguished career with the United States military and was blinded in a mortar attack while serving in Iraq.

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