By Dan Courtney, NIFS Correspondent

NIFS member Clara French has always seen the world a little differently than most of us. She was born with optic atrophy, a dysfunction of the optic nerve. French was declared legally blind at age 4.

The 55-year-old has been a diabetic for 31 years, causing her vision to deteriorate further. Three years ago, she experienced retinopathy, a diabetic symptom in which small blood vessels in the eyes begin to pop, causing more problems.

“Each time they did surgery, I kept losing peripheral vision,” explained French.

The impaired vision never stopped French from her daily visits to NIFS. She used a cane to help her move around to all the exercise machines. She also gathered a little advice from Brad Summerlin, a certified trainer at NIFS. “I saw her working out and I offered some advice as far as correcting some of her form,” said Summerlin. “Because of her impaired vision, I was able to grab her hands and help her go through the movements. I have a brother and sister who are deaf, so I have a little experience dealing with someone with a disability.”

French received great news when she was accepted into the Leader Dogs for the Blind Program in Rochester, Mich. The intensive training lasted 3 ½ weeks before she received her dog, Landria, part Labrador retriever and part golden retriever.

Landria has been a huge help with French at NIFS. While she works out three days a week, the 63-pound canine is at her side every step of the way.

“I love to walk around the track four times and Landria loves the exercise. She loves to walk and loves the people. When the harness is on, she knows she is working. But I don’t do anything without her,” said French.

French also said Landria is very good around the Cybex machines. She has each of the machines numbered, so by telling her dog the number Landria will lead French to the correct machine.

“The important thing about French is that she is very motivated and she knows the importance of exercise,” added Summerlin.

French is optimistic she will keep the little eyesight she has left. For her it’s just a “box of vision.” But with her trusty Landria at her side, she will always find time for workouts at NIFS.

“Everybody has been so good to us. And this is a great place for stress relief,” added French.

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