By Despina Karpathiou
Losing your eyesight is something most people don’t really think about – until it happens.
Michael Zannis has turned his ‘disability’ into his superpower. He lives as everyone else does and is thriving.
The Greek Herald spoke to Michael about his extraordinary journey, from losing his sight to gaining a whole new perspective on life.
Michael was born in 1975 in Melbourne, Victoria to Greek parents who came to Australia from Rhodes in 1955 to give their future families a better life. Now residing in Adelaide, South Australia, Michael had a rather normal start to life.
But at the age of six, a freak accident changed Michael’s life forever. He was walking outside his house one day, turned a corner too quickly, and walked into a wall, hitting his head hard. He later walked inside and within five minutes, started losing his vision.
He remembers asking his mother questions like, “Why is it getting dark in here?” and “It’s all so blurry.”
In the next two to three days, he had nearly completely lost all vision in his left eye. He was rushed to the hospital.
It was discovered he had a detached retina – the retina connects the eye and brain. This detachment prevented the retina from functioning properly. There was no surgery available back then to reattach the retina.
For Michael, the pressure inside his eye (resulting from the injury) caused his remaining functioning right eye to go completely blind as well.
Michael said the realisation that he was completely blind at six years old was a “very traumatic experience.”
“I had to come to terms with losing my eyesight, and I was so young,” he said.
The grieving process took Michael about six months. During this period, everything changed. The accident completely altered his family dynamic and everything around him.
He gradually came to terms with his vision loss and joined a special school for blind and vision-impaired children. This is where he started to get back into the groove of things.
He learned Braille in Year 3 and, supported by some wonderful primary school teachers, was introduced to sports. He also joined a Braille community and slowly started to find his place.
Michael completed a Bachelor of Communications and Arts using Braille and a special computer called JAWS (Job Access With Speech), which reads what is being typed and displayed on the screen.
Michael credits his PE teacher, Dennis Peck, for introducing him to sports and showing him how to play cricket.
“Mr. Peck introduced me to the blind cricket ball. This ball makes a rattling sound so you can hear it,” Michael reminisced.
“I always loved cricket, but I thought that because I was blind, I couldn’t play it anymore. Mr Peck changed that belief for me.”
Sports greatly assisted Michael in building confidence and belief in himself, playing a pivotal role in shaping who he is today.
“I thought, well, if I can play cricket (and excel in it) blind, what else can I do?” he said.
Michael has played cricket since he was 12 years old and has played professionally for the Australian Cricket Team since 1998. He has competed in the Blind Ashes Series and travelled to India, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, England, and South Africa.
“I absolutely love traveling and meeting the locals – you learn so much about yourself!” he said.
Michael currently works as a Braille teacher and blind technology assistant and has some big goals he plans to put into motion in the next few years.
“I want to start a business for people with sight disabilities. I want to give back to people with disabilities and offer mentoring services by using my story to help guide others in similar situations,” he said.
Michael also wants to play his hundredth game for Australia, a feat no other blind man has achieved.
“Losing my eyesight has made me a more insightful person. I’ve learned to delve deeper into the meaning of life. I’m a very happy and fulfilled individual,” he said.
Eventually, Michael would like to get married and have children, but for now, he’s focused on achieving his goals.
His advice to young people who have a disability is to “be creative, use your problem-solving skills, and don’t be afraid to ask for help!”
