No limits
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on May 28, 2015 2:35 PM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Pernatthia Marshall, 16, uses her VisioBook during her advanced functions and modeling class that makes her work much larger and on a black background, allowing her to read the page. Marshall, who is legally blind, recently achieved her goal of being inducted into the National Honor Society.
Pernatthia Marshall just wants to be a regular teen.
She describes herself as "easy to get along with" and while she admits she is shy, she considers herself "really funny."
She doesn't like to draw a lot of attention to herself, so pulling out a cane to navigate the hallways of Spring Creek High School was a bit awkward at first.
"I had to start using my cane and that was really hard for me because I really didn't want to use it, but now I love it," the sophomore said. "I started that in the spring semester (of ninth grade). I was really nervous because I never used it before and I didn't know what people would think."
The 16-year-old is legally blind.
"I do not have any peripheral vision and I can only see about three feet in front of me but I see shadows and colors," she said.
That has not always been the case, though.
"I had vision from birth," she said, "but around sixth grade year it started deteriorating.
"I was able to see the (chalk) board at the beginning of the year but then I couldn't see it that much by the end of the school year."
As her vision blurred, seeing an eye doctor seemed the way to go. Initially glasses were prescribed but by the time she was in eighth grade, even that didn't help.
"My vision kept getting worse every year," she said.
Going to Duke and getting tested, she was given a diagnosis - retinitis pigmentosa.
"It means that I have tunnel vision," she said, describing it as the feeling of things "closing in."
One technique she applied to navigate was "trailing," using the back of her hand to feel down the wall, looking down at the borders to get her bearings.
"I have this cc (closed caption) TV and I had to learn how to use that," she said, explaining that it isn't a device for watching her favorite shows but a "VisioBook" that folds down like a computer and magnifies words for her. "When I read I have to have a black background and white font."
She is currently learning Braille but said so far she hasn't had to rely on that.
She confesses that she can be self-conscious and worry about what others say and think about her. What she'd really like to be is "normal," she says.
"I try to think like I used to do before I got this way," she said. "I try to go out more like I used to but I don't. I'm really nervous about what they're going to say."
When pressed, though, she admits no one has been particularly unkind or cruel. It's probably just a typical teenage fear.
"My friends took it pretty good," she said of her changing situation. "They don't ask too many questions."
School has also been a great outlet, she said, and she has enjoyed being a student at Spring Creek.
"I love coming here because the people, I love talking to people and I love English class. I really do like to read so that helps," she said. "I like the subjects that we're talking about right now, like Greek mythology."
Last week she was among students inducted into the prestigious National Honor Society. It was the culmination of a goal she had set for herself.
"I was in the Beta Club in middle school and I decided when I got to high school, I wanted to be in the National Honor Society," she said. "So I just worked really hard.
"Once I got to high school, I started studying a lot more and I improved my grades a lot so that really helped."
Among the requirements for the NHS are having a grade-point average of at least 3.5 and participating in extra curricular activities.
"And you have to be helpful," she added, something she'd like to think is one of her qualities. "I participated in the Tootsie Roll drive for eight straight years through my mom (Tameika Marshall, a teacher assistant at Spring Creek Elementary). I also help my grandfather who can't walk so I have been really helping him a lot."
Receiving the letter inviting her to join the NHS, and then being presented with a pin and certificate during the induction ceremony was particularly meaningful, she said.
"I was really happy because I was really working for that," she said.
Her future aspirations include becoming a physical therapy assistant.
"I really do like helping people," she said. "I help my grandfather with exercises so I'm familiar with it and I'm really interested in science."