Visually Impaired Maine Boy Competes in Cross Country Races

November 9, 2015

"When Noah Carver asked his parents if he could participate in running at his school, they said, without hesitation, “Yes.”

For Suzanne and Richard “Buzz” Carver, it didn’t matter that their kindergartener was blind. They’d make it work.

Noah, who is now 12 and a sixth-grader at Beals Elementary School in Beals, Maine, recently wrapped up his eighth cross country season. He completed each race beside his father, who holds his hand and verbally guides him over every root, curb, and transition between terrains.

Noah has Leber's congenital amaurosis, a condition that causes severe vision loss at birth. But when he started school, he decided he wanted to be like the other kids and participate in sports. He settled on running, likely because his parents had always dabbled with it. Even as a toddler, Noah had already participated in his first race—a fun run in Boston for children.  

Though he always needs to exercise a bit more caution to get around, Suzanne said she thinks her son embraces the opportunity to “move faster through space and feeling that freedom.”

To read more of Megan Hetzel's article please visit: FoxNews.com