About Jan JanickiJan was born and raised in the northwest suburbs of Chicago and lived there until her early thirties. She was the oldest and only girl in the family, with four younger brothers. After graduating from Glenbrook South High School, Jan attended Illinois State University. She later married, Steve, and they had one son, Matt.Growing up, the church played a vital role for her family, so Jan got an early start in her faith walk, participating in Sunday School, choir, youth group and local missions. As a child, she was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA) with symptoms of joint tenderness in her knee and complications involving her eyes. It was determined as a toddler that she had no vision in her right eye, other than light perception. This limited her peripheral vision but the vision in her other eye was good- until high school. At that time, the vision began to deteriorate and, although improved by cataract surgery a week before her 18th birthday, her still-limited vision began to be something she needed to acknowledge and accommodate. By her early forties, the vision deteriorated even more. A series of surgeries and complications culminated in a total loss of vision in July 2006. She did retain light perception in both eyes but now had to face her world as a blind person. A surgery in October 2007 on her long-time affected right eye garnered some shadow and color recognition but still kept her in the clouded, dependent world of the blind. The changes in her vision had created changes in her world, and she now was embarking on the journey of a lifetime. Jan is divorced and now lives in Melbourne, Florida and her grown son, Matt, lives in northern Florida. She keeps busy writing, speaking, taking classes at the Hadley School for the Blind and facilitating a support group for the blind and visually impaired in her community. |