Journey to Excellence: Development of the Military and Va Blind Rehabilitation Programs in the 20th Century

Journey to Excellence recounts the story of blind rehabilitation from World War I on through the difficult times in the growth of the Hines Blind Rehabilitation program. Approaches and techniques are explored, including new and significant information on the "long cane." This comprehensive history is documented in more than a hundred photographs and includes heart-rending personal accounts of blinded servicemen who went through the rehabilitation program in its various stages. Due to the commitment, dedication, and high standards of the pioneering staff members, a one-on-one working relationship with the blind was established. These men succeeded in defining and perfecting the new blind-rehabilitation discipline of Orientation and Mobility. In spite of national complacency and politics in high places, the chiefs of the Hines Blind Center have always placed the needs and welfare of the veteran first. Given up as lost, these blinded veterans were enabled to prove to the world that they could become useful and functional members of society.