Like many first-time mothers, Alyssa* was balancing her career while preparing to have her daughter. However, Alyssa has a challenge that many new mothers do not have to navigate during their first foray into parenthood: Blindness.

Rendered completely blind in both eyes due to a road rage incident when she was younger, Alyssa has been living without vision for eight years now before she became pregnant with her first child. In that time, she pursued a career in massage therapy. With the support of United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County’s Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) programs, Alyssa overcame tremendous personal challenges during her pregnancy and her child’s infancy in both her home life and career.

Frightened of how she could care for her child without her vision, Alyssa was connected with United Way MIECHV partner Catholic Charities and the Nurse Family Partnership (NFP) program. This meant that during her pregnancy and for the year after her child was born, Alyssa had a trained professional counseling her in her home about the road ahead as a new parent. This nurse provided medical insight, emotional support, resources and unwavering encouragement throughout this time in Alyssa’s life.

This support helped Alyssa catch up with her clinical hours in her career and excel in her child’s early development.

“The Nurse Family Partnership program was able to provide her reassurance that she has overcome challenges already and that being a mother would be another trial that she could overcome as well,” said Dominque, the Nurse Alyssa was paired with during her pregnancy. “We encouraged her to use postpartum doula services to assist her with daily activities and as her child aged, we discussed ways to childproof her home including using a bell system and noise-making shoes to hear the whereabouts of her child as they became more mobile,” Dominque said.

Alyssa discovered other ways to adjust to being a parent without the ability to see, including breathing techniques, journaling and reading children’s books written in braille to her daughter so she could strengthen their bond.

While adjusting to parenthood, Alyssa remained dedicated to her goal of becoming a licensed massage therapist and her dream of opening her own massage studio. Unfortunately, she failed her first attempt at the state licensing exam to become a certified massage therapist. Distraught at this result and unable to afford the $375 to re-take the exam, her nurse connected her to United Way’s MIECHV Basic Needs Assistance fund. With this support, Alyssa was able to pay the $375 to re-take the exam in late 2024 and this time she passed!

Today, Alyssa is thriving in her career and her life as a parent. In addition to getting her own salon suite and launching her own private massage practice, she completed her associate degree in psychology. Not enough to turn her long-term goals into reality, her daughter is almost two years old and is excelling in her early learning.

Individuals interested in learning about their child’s growth and development can call our free Help Me Grow support line at 1-866-GROW-210. Help Me Grow Bexar County connects families who are pregnant or have children under the age of 6 to local resources that help ensure that Bexar County children grow up happy, healthy and ready.

*The client’s name has been changed to Alyssa to protect their identity.