{"id":55356,"date":"2014-09-03T14:31:35","date_gmt":"2014-09-03T21:31:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theavtimes.com\/?p=55356"},"modified":"2014-09-03T16:07:02","modified_gmt":"2014-09-03T23:07:02","slug":"she-lost-her-sight-but-not-her-vision-for-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2014\/09\/03\/she-lost-her-sight-but-not-her-vision-for-success\/","title":{"rendered":"She lost her sight but not her vision for success"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Raenell<\/a>
Raenell Weatherspoon is a massage therapy student at UAV and currently completing her externship at Haddad Chiropractic in Lancaster. The mother of six is ready to confront any obstacle while remaining in good spirits, and she is a morale booster for other students, according to UAV staff. (Contributed photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LANCASTER – Raenell Weatherspoon<\/strong> is in the midst of defining her personal journey.\u00a0 Born with a degenerative eye disease, the mother of six young girls eventually lost 100% of her eyesight but never lost her vision for success.<\/p>\n

Instead, she decided to be an example for her children and focus on her new sense of responsibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cDisability is not defined as a burden, it can be whatever you make it,\u201d Raenell said.<\/p>\n

Raenell is now a massage therapy student at University of Antelope Valley, and she\u2019s completing her externship at Haddad Chiropractic in Lancaster.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen she initially toured the UAV campus, I told Raenell that I would be up for the challenge and honored to teach her, and it has been a joy,\u201d said UAV Lead Massage Therapy Instructor Kim Blunt. \u201cRaenell has a gentle healing touch and it was no surprise when she revealed to me that she had always wanted to be a massage therapist. She has made such a positive impact on each of the students, and they see that she is always ready to confront any obstacle while remaining in good spirits; she is the best morale booster ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Raenell\u2019s loss of vision is actually one of her greatest assets, according to the staff at Haddad Chiropractic.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer hands are her eyes,\u201d said Haddad Chiropractic Supervisor Gigi Haddad. \u201cRaenell is really good at what she does and is extremely passionate, which is why all her patients love her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Raenell, who describes herself as \u201cinstinctively a nurturer,\u201d said she\u2019s positive she has chosen the correct career path.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I apply a massage treatment, a mental picture forms that appears as a body chart with pressure points, and this intuitively makes me an effective massage therapist,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Success would not have been possible without the support of the UAV staff, she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am thankful I crossed paths with the University of Antelope Valley where I was accepted with open arms, and faculty and administration always did their best to accommodate my needs and were always available to help in any way,\u201d Raenell said. \u201cWithout the support of the UAV staff, my admissions counselor, Jessica, and my instructor, Ms. Blunt, I would not have prevailed to be where I am today. My goal is to inspire my girls and show them that I am never gonna give up.\u201d<\/p>\n

UAV officials are hoping Raenell\u2019s story can inspire others to stay strong, face life\u2019s challenges and define their own personal journeys by pursuing post-secondary education. To learn more, visit www.uav.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LANCASTER – Raenell Weatherspoon is in the midst of defining her personal journey.\u00a0 Born with a degenerative eye disease, the mother of six young girls eventually lost 100% of her eyesight but never lost her vision for success. Instead, she decided to be an example for her children and focus on her new sense of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":55357,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[29,10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55356"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55356\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}