A Wish To Be Blind

Jewel Shuping, a 30 year old in North Carolina, says she is the happiest she has ever been since her lifelong wish of being blind has been satisfied. Shuping has a condition where able-bodied people think they should be disabled. This condition is known as Body Integrity Identity Disorder. 

Her obsession with becoming blind began when she was only six years old. She began to wear glasses and walked with a cane in her teenage years. As she grew older, she became fluent in braille, which is a pattern of raised dots that are felt with the fingertips, which is a language used by the blind. In 2006, Jewel found a psychologist who was willing to help her fulfill her wish of becoming blind. The psychologist would put numbing drops in her eyes, followed by drain cleaner. It took a half a year for the damage to take effect. 

"When I woke up the following day I was joyful until I turned on to my back and opened my eyes - I was so enraged when I saw the TV screen," Shuping said. One of her eyes was eventually removed and the other had glaucoma and cataracts. She eventually became blind. 

Questions:

1. Would you ever want to become blind? Why?

2. Have you ever wanted to change your body? What body part and why?

3. How far would you go to help someone?

My Opinion:

I would never want to become blind. I would never be able to truly see anything again. I couldn't even see to carve a pumpkin if I was blind. It is something I would never personally wish on anyone or anything. I have never really wanted to change my body, because it is dandy just the way it is. I know that being blind was Shuping's wish, but I could not bring myself to cause a person bodily harm. She did eventually end up with cataracts and glaucoma and lost another eye. This was a harrowing procedure and I would never wish to have it done. It's risky to put drain cleaner in your eyes. It harmed her body and is not something that I believe should never be done. It is a very strange thing to want and I really don't believe it should have followed through with.  

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Replies

  • Great story choice and overall you did an excellent job! Be sure to hyperlink to the story in your summary however.

  • This is a very different story! I have never heard of anyone ever WANTING a disability! I think that it is almost a sense of selfishness because she is taking a privilege she had away from someone who would LOVE to be able to see. I have never wanted to change my body to that extreme and never who dream of changing it in that kind of way. 

    • I have heard of people wanting to be rid of their disability of course, but this is a very different perspective. We all want to make minor changes, but I have never heard of a case quite like this. Did you know BIID was a thing before reading this article?

  • Why in the world would you want to be blind? That doesn't make any sense. I would never want to be blind, the gift of sight is amazing. As it is commonly said a picture is worth a thousand words. I've always wanted to be a little taller but that is it for changing myself physically. It's good she went to a psychologist although I have a lot of trouble believing the psychologist helped her do this. They are supposed to fix your brain, not give in to what you want.

    • Jewel wanted to be blind because she felt as if she was meant to be blind most of her life. I believe we all want to change at least a little bit at one point in our lives. It is a tough subject to wrap my head around. I thought the same thing too when I heard the psychologist complied with Shuping's requests. The psychologist did grant her wish, which did help her mental well-being. 

  • I just can't imagine someone ever wanting to become blind, for it's a disability that's really hard for people to overcome and it forces them to live their lives much differently. I would never want to be blind, which that's probably what most people would say, because I wouldn't be able to see any of the world's beauty and I wouldn't be able to drive, read, watch movies, and it would be tough for  me to get a job. Everything I'd do in life would be defined by this disability, and I just don't know how someone could wish for that. Even though the doctor was only obeying by Shuping's wish to be blind, I don't think I'd be able to go through the process of making someone else go blind, for I'd feel really guilty during and after the procedure for changing a person's entire life with nothing but numbing drops and drain cleaner.

    • I completely agree! Being blind is a major disability and completely changes one's life. I'm sure many blind people would love to have Jewel's sight. Jewel did learn braille, so she can read, but she must rely heavily on her other senses to compensate for her sight. I would struggle to cope with the loss of my eyesight. I would have trouble brushing my teeth in the morning and at night. I'm sure Jewel has learned how to cope. Several drops of solution and you completely altered someone's life. It would be a very hard thing for me to do, and I would not be able to do it in the end. You are, in fact, disabling a fellow human being. 

  • I would absolutely never want to become blind. I love being able to see the beauty in the world. I think every person has wanted to change their body in some way. Especially a teenage girl like me. I'm not sure I would be the person to make THIS particular wish come true, but if it was a smaller wish, I would definitely help them

    • It depends on their wish. I know that Jewel has always wanted to be blind, ever since she was a young girl. She stuck with her wish throughout the years and eventually her wish was granted. I would not want to help with this wish seeing as it is destroying someone's body part. I could not grant Jewel her wish.

  • I would never want to become blind then I could not see my family at all. I would not beable to see my baby sis grow I would never get to see the funny looks on peoples faces.

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