For 38 years, the woman hid the fact that she was almost blind. During this time, she received an education, gave birth to children and wrote a book.

It is very difficult for ordinary people to understand how blind people feel. Could you imagine a situation when relatives and people around didn’t even suspect  that the person next to them doesn’t see anything? This story is about British Zena Cooper, who has not confessed to anyone for 38 years in a row, that she is  practically blind, but in spite of everything she was able to achieve a lot.

When Xena was still young, she was diagnosed with Morfan’s Syndrome. This pathology affects different organs, but the biggest and most negative impact is on vision.

The girl was prescribed glasses with very thick lenses. But at school, she started having problems with her classmates, as they began to tease her and bully her. So she decided to take off her glasses and not tell anyone that she could not see well. And at first she did not even understand that she was different from other children, she thought that everyone saw the same blurry pictures.

As the years passed, Xena’s eyesight was getting worse. But despite this, she did not quit her studies,  she simply increased the font on the computer tenfold. Later, she got a job as a nurse in a psychiatric hospital, but her eyesight fell even more and she was forced to quit her job.

Later, Xena receives her Master of Arts degree and begins working as a counselor at the school.

Xena got married and had four children, and still didn’t tell anyone that she was practically blind. She easily took care of her children and could even cope with them alone. As she says, her other feelings became very aggravated, she could even determine by the smell of the children’s skin when they were sick.

When Xena turned 42, she nevertheless confessed her blindness. As it turned out, no one even suspected this. She became the author of the book «What You See When You Can’t See» — and it was a real revelation for her loved ones.

Today, Xena continues to live an active life and work, though now she is accompanied by a guide dog everywhere.