Tanya Savory - Helen Keller: From Darkness to Light

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Im sorry, the doctor finally said. Im afraid Helen will be both deaf and blind for the rest of her life.

So theres no hope? Mrs. Keller asked in a shaking voice.

Well, theres still hope that Helen can be taught, the doctor answered. She seems unusually bright.

Taught? Captain Keller asked doubtfully. How on earth can a child who cant see or hear be taught anything?

Helen! No!

A frantic Mrs. Keller rushed toward six-year-old Helen as the furious girl grabbed the edge of her dolls crib and rocked it violently. Helen had discovered her infant sister, Mildred, sleeping in the crib. Already jealous of the attention her mother had been giving the baby, Helen completely lost control. In the split second before Mildred went flying out of the crib, Mrs. Keller scooped up the infant.

Helen reached up and pulled at her mothers skirt. When her mother ignored her, Helen growled in fury, grabbed a lamp on a nearby table, and threw it against the wall. The lamp shattered; the startled baby began howling. Helens hands reached toward an expensive vase, but as her fingers curled around it, she smelled the sweet scent of her favorite candy. Helens father, Captain Keller, gently wrapped his arms around his daughter and pressed a peppermint candy to her lips. With a greedy snap, Helen bit down on the candy and ran from the room.

This cant continue, Captain Keller said in a strained, angry voice. Things are getting worse with Helen. She could have killed Mildred!

Mrs. Keller rocked and soothed the infant and shook her head. I dont know what to do, she replied. How can we make her understand? How can we reach her?

We cant, Captain Keller said with a frustrated frown as he began picking up the pieces of the broken lamp. And we never will, he added gloomily.

I just cant believe its completely hopeless, Mrs. Keller said. She sighed as she smoothed Mildreds hair and listened to the familiar sound of Helen repeatedly kicking a locked door somewhere in the house.

It hadnt always been this way.

In 1880, Helen Adams Keller had been born a healthy, normal baby. In fact, as she grew, she seemed to be even brighter and more curious than most babies. At only six months, she asked for water by saying her first wordwah-wah. Bird songs attracted Helen, and she would gaze for long periods of time up into the branches of the old oak trees that grew in the front yard of the Keller home in Alabama. And bright dancing shadows of leaves on the kitchen floor excited Helen. Before she was one, she took her first steps as she tried to chase the shadows.

But then, when she was a year and a half old, Helen became extremely sick. In the 1800s, babies often died of illnesses that doctors didnt understand and couldnt treat. Baby Helen had a high fever, but other than that, the Keller family doctor had no idea what was wrong. Calling her illness brain fever, the doctor told the Kellers to prepare for the worst. Helen would surely not make it through the night.

Mrs. Keller sat beside her babys crib all night, putting her cool hand on Helens forehead and singing gentle songs to her. Surprisingly, Helens fever broke in the middle of that long night. In the morning, Mrs. Keller leaned over her babys small bed and smiled with relief as dawns pink sunlight streamed over Helens face. But as the sunlight grew stronger, Mrs. Keller noticed something wrong. Why didnt Helen blink or turn away from the glare of the sun? Didnt the bright light hurt her eyes? Frightened, Mrs. Keller waved her hand in front of Helens face. There was no response. She grabbed a lamp and pointed the light directly into Helens eyes. Helen didnt even move. The terrible realization hit Mrs. Keller as she backed away from Helens crib.

Blind! she cried out as she ran down the stairs in search of her husband. Our baby is blind!

But it was even worse than that.

Later that day, as Mrs. Keller held a napping Helen on the front porch, a loud bell rang at the edge of the house, indicating it was time for dinner. The clanging bell startled Mrs. Keller, but Helen continued sleeping peacefully.

Helen? Mrs. Keller said loudly. HELEN!

In a panic, Mrs. Keller grabbed a can of stones that Helen used as a rattle and shook it right by Helens ear. The baby slept on.

Deaf, too, Mrs. Keller said quietly to herself as tears filled her eyes.

The Kellers watched Helen closely for several days, hoping that, perhaps, her eyesight and hearing would return once she was completely well. After all, neither they nor their doctor had ever heard of a child losing both her sight and hearing overnight. Was it even possible? The Kellers prayed that it was not.

And the Kellers wondered why Helen, if she could truly no longer see, wasnt terrified and confused. She seemed so calm and slept as peacefully as ever. Years later, Helen would write, I was too young to realize what had happened. When I awoke and found that all was dark and still, I suppose I thought it was night, and I must have wondered why day was so long in coming. Gradually, however, I got used to the silence and darkness that surrounded me and forgot that it had ever been day.

Finally, the Kellers came to accept that an unheard-of tragedy had struck little Helen. She was both deaf and blind. The beautiful little girl with bright blue eyes, whose very name meant light, was living in complete darkness and silence.

Over the next few years, the Kellers traveled to many doctors and specialists. Couldnt anything be done? Doctor after doctor shook their heads and sent the Kellers away without hope. Helen was able to communicate in her own limited way. If she wanted her mother, she stroked her own cheek. If she wanted her father, she imitated putting on and taking off glasses. When she wanted ice cream on a hot summer day, she rubbed her arms and shivered. In all, Helen had about 60 signs she used to let her family know what she wanted. But these signs were not nearly enough.

By the time Helen was four years old, she knew she was different in ways that made no sense to her at all. Although she used signs, she realized that other people used their mouths to communicate. Helen often stood between her mother and father and touched their mouths as they spoke to each other. She felt them gesture with their hands while their mouths moved. What were they doing? Helen would move her lips and hands, but nothing would happen. No one seemed to understand her, even though they seemed to understand each other. Sometimes this frustrated Helen so much that she would kick and scream until she wore herself out.

As Helen got older, her temper got much worse. She pinched and slapped strangers when they took her parents attention away from her. Once, she pulled her grandmothers hair and then ran through the house shrieking and knocking things over when the elderly woman would not let her sit in her lap. And because the Kellers did not know how to teach Helen right from wrong, Helen began to get into all sorts of mischief and trouble. Mrs. Keller, in particular, was reluctant to punish Helen. For one thing, she didnt think Helen could understand what punishment was or why she was receiving it. In addition, Mrs. Keller had no idea how to discipline a deaf and blind child. But most of all, both Captain and Mrs. Keller knew that not letting Helen have her way would lead to an all-out temper tantrum that could last for hours. Helen would scream and kick until she literally collapsed from exhaustion. It was easier just to let Helen run wild.