Despite being diagnosed ’profoundly deaf’ at birth and ’clinically blind’ then later went into complete blindness, Jenny is always determined to lead a full life. | Supplied.
Jenny, who is both deaf and blind, navigates her world through kind community support.
Cape Town - With some seeing her as a true example of ’disability never an inability’, Jenny Pretorius continued to be an inspiration to many.
Despite being diagnosed ‘profoundly deaf’ at birth and ‘clinically blind’ at the age of 48, Pretorius from Fish Hoek, who is now aged 59, has always been determined to lead a full life.
At the age of six she was unable to attend mainstream school due to developmental issues, and she was then sent to the Dominican Grimley School for the Deaf where, she said, the nuns cried when she could not say her name.
Defying all odds, she learned to speak without sign language and caught up to her classmates academically in just two years, with the help of speech therapy.
‘’Although I was thriving at school, another curveball came my way. When at the age of 10, my tennis teacher noticed I was having difficulty with my hand-eye coordination. I was later taken to an optometrist, who noticed black spots in my retinas, but was not able to give me a diagnosis.
‘’Nobody realised how bad my eye condition was. I just took on everything I wanted to do like all the other children did, and my parents encouraged me to take on new challenges,’’ she said.
Despite her worsening eyesight, Jenny never gave up on her love for sports as she got older. She played tennis, cricket, netball, badminton and hockey and could even ride her bicycle in those days.
At the age of 18, Jenny was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, which she found stressful, but that did not stop her from reaching milestones. She found the courage and joined the Navy as an administration civilian, ran for Defence and Fish Hoek Athletic Club, participated in half marathons, and rode horses at the Glencairn Equestrian Centre.
“My eyesight deteriorated further, one by one and I had to let go of my passions including photography, as I would often fall down, accidents became more frequent.”
After being told by doctors that she needed to prepare for a life of total blindness and deafness, new hope came in the form of a life-changing cochlear implant that Jenny inserted in 2019.
To make Jenny’s life more easier, her friend Debbie Holmes launched a crowd-funding campaign on BackaBuddy to help her. She said with the funds raised thus far, they were able to purchase a 6dot Braille label maker, Dolphin magnifier, a Braille and screen reader computer program and a few other gadgets.
“Any additional funds will be used for her speech therapy sessions that she currently unable to afford. Jenny does not let her daily struggles and challenges define her, she has a beautiful soul and a kind, caring nature.
“I have never met someone who is so resilient and so passionate about life. No matter what she is going through, she always has a smile on her face and is grateful for each day,” said Holmes.
Weekend Argus
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