Helen Keller

Helen Keller

Helen James Keller is my hero. She has inspired so many people to fulfill their dreams, even if they are disabled or leading a hard life. Even though Helen was blind and deaf she still traveled around the world to tell people that you should never give up no matter how bad your life is. Helen Keller was not born blind and deaf. On June 27, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama, U.S.A., Helen Keller was born with full sight and hearing. She was very healthy, part of the reason for this is that her family was not poor and had just the right amount of food for their family to be well fed. They had a simple, white, clapboard house with everything you needed to live all inside. Everything was going well until February 1882, when Helen's and her family's life was about to change dramatically all because of one sickness that could have been deadly.

Helen Keller was only 19 months old (one year and 7 months old) when she fell terribly ill. The doctors at the time called it "brain fever", but modern day doctors think it might have been "scarlet fever" or "meningitis", but whatever the sickness was, Helen's family and neighbors thought she was going to die, at such a young age, too. Eventually, with much relief, the fever subsided and Helen's family rejoiced, believing their daughter was to be well again. However, Helen's mother noticed that Helen was not responding to the dinner bell or when her mother passed her hand before her eyes. Helen's family soon realized that the unknown sickness had left Helen with being blind and deaf. Although times could have been worse, Helen's mother and father had a very difficult time with Helen.

The following years were a very hard time for the Keller family. Helen became a very difficult child, smashing dishes and lamps that shattered all over the place. Not only that, but she would throw fits and tantrums. Some of Helen's relatives thought of Helen as a "monster" and thought she should be put in an institution. Helen's family was desperate at the time when Helen was six. Helen's parents tried so hard to find somebody who could work with blind and deaf children. They finally found the expert, who was Alexander Graham Bell. He was the inventor of the telephone. Bell suggested the Kellers write to Michael Anagnos, the director of a Perkins Institution for the Blind. Anagnos took the mission to find a teacher right away. Finally he found someone who was formally in the Institution. This teacher was Anne Sullivan.

Anne Sullivan had something in common with Helen. She too had lost her sight too, but at the age of five. Then at the age of ten, Anne's mother died and her father had deserted her leaving Anne and her brother, Jimmie, sent to a poorhouse. Soon after they arrived at the poorhouse Jimmie died. Anne needed to find a job quickly. In October 1880 Anne left the poor house to find an education and found one at the Perkins Institution. One summer Anne got two operations on her eyes, enough sight to be able to read normal print for periods of time. Anne graduated from the Perkins Institution in 1886 and began to search for work. Due to Anne's poor sight it was very difficult to find work, but when she received Micheal's offer, Anne accepted willingly. On March 3, 1887 Anne arrived at the Keller's clapboard house and for the first time, Anne met Helen. Anne began right away to teach Helen. First Anne teaching Helen how to finger spell. Helen could repeat the finger movements, but she did not understand what they meant. Anne had a very difficult time with Helen's bad behavior, but she also struggled to try Helen to understand.

Helen and Anne later moved into a small cottage the land of the main house. Their goal was to improve Helen's behavior, especially her table manners. Over time, with much patience, Helen's manners improved greatly. Anne's and Helen's bond of friendship grew too. Now that Helen could finger spell, she wanted to learn how to speak, but it was an unsuccessful. Anne was witting to Michael Anagnos about Helen's progress. When Anagnos read Anne's letter he was astonished by how much Helen was improving. Anagnos thought that it was such a miracle that he made an article about Helen in the newspaper and Helen became famous. Helen soon attended Radcliffe College. On June 28, 1904 Helen graduated, becoming the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. Anne and Helen started to travel the world to sick people telling them that it's going to be alright and don't give up your dreams. On October 20, 1936, Helen James Keller's life was cut short.