LARGO, Fla. — Leslie D’Amore admits she was a little nervous when her daughter first jumped in the pool.
“A lot,” recalled Leslie with a shy chuckle. “As a mom, I still freak out.”
Then 6-year-old Marisa was in uncharted waters – literally. Born 14 weeks premature, Marisa’s eyes never fully developed. Now 17, Marisa is totally blind in her right eye and legally blind in her left. The diagnosis is retinopathy of prematurity and Plus disease.
Still, the darkness hasn’t dimmed her love for light.
“She’s done dance, gymnastics, track,” said Leslie. “She’s been in marching band, choir.”
The latest activity for Marisa has been the most encouraging. Not for her, necessarily, but for others.
The high school junior has been speaking at churches in her community and sharing her story of faith and how God has guided her through her lack of sight.
“My disability is temporary and therefore does not define me,” Marisa said to a room full of students during Thursday morning’s middle and high school chapel service at Indian Rocks Christian School. “What defines me is that I’m an eternal child of God.”
Over 100 students applauded Marisa’s speech. A few came up and thanked her afterward for being so bold in her faith. Her outlook is shaped by her disability.
“Whether it’s sports or music or anything they think I can’t do it because I can’t do this and that, if you really put your mind to it a... then it’s possible,” she said.
Swimming was one of the first loves for Marisa. Her favorite stroke is the difficult breaststroke.
“Typical Marisa,” said mom from the stands during a recent swim practice. “I don’t want her to ever think she can’t go out there and do things.”
That message has definitely sunk in.
“This idea of having our identity as a child of God has become a real passion of mine,” said Marisa, who is considering a career in communications. “The world labels people by what they do and what they look like rather than who they really are.”
Marisa is a junior at Northside Christian School in St. Petersburg. She maintains a blog and shares videos of her various speaking engagements on her website.
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