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SECTION 2 - PAGE 4 - PLAlNgEALER - FRIDAY. OCTOBER 28, 1»77 Next Time You Take The Train Into Chicago STAFF PHOTOS BV WAYNE 6AYL0RD .Say 'Hi' To Ted Every weekday morning Ted Frett ldsses his wife goodbye at the McHenry train station, and he boards the Chicago & Northwestern train for the trip into Chicago. And every weekday evening Ted Frett steps off the Chicago & Northwestern train at the McHenry station and greets his wife with a ldss as he returns home from the city after another day at work. It's a common scene, not just in McHenry, but throughout the suburbs. The husband commutes to the city after being taken to the train station by his wife. It's an occurrence that can be seen almost everywhere. . * Except that Ted Frett doesn't see anybody else doing it Ted Frett doesn't see anything. He is blind. How can a Mind man hold a job in Chicago? How can a Mind man hold a job anywhere? Just spend a few hours with Ted and his family. Individuals like him are rare indent Through hard work, determination, and desire, he has been able 16 overcome his handicap, and lives a life that is almost as normal as yours and mine. Ted even overcame what must have been a crushing experience- losing his job because he went blind. Still, he put the pieces together and now works in Chicago, helping other blind people find jobs. That's a 180-degree change from just a few short years ago when Ted, having gone blind, was dismissed from his position with a local business. The climb from the bottom to the top wasn't easy. Ted graduated from McHenry high school in 196L He attended Elgin Community college for two years, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Loyola university in 1966. He then went to work for a local firm as a general manager for eight years--until he went blind "I lost my sight because of diabetes," he said "It!s a progressive disease, an abnormal growth of the vessels in the retina of the eye." As the vessels grow, they eventually hemorrhage. The scars which then grow over the wound are what blocks the vision and what made Ted go blind. Many months and operations later, Ted was dismissed from his position as general manager. "The firm felt I was no longer able to do the iob. They were worried about error, paperwork, etc. At the time, I probably agreed with them." Next came a period of adjustment. He was made aware of the Illinois Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (IDVR), and a counselor came out and talked to him. 'The IDVR man realized that I was not ready at that time U' rehabilitation. At the time, I had not really considered any type of rehabiliation. "Gradually, I started to accept the fact that this was the way it was going to be," Ted noted. "It didn't look like anything could be done medically for the condition. The doctors don't know why this condition develops "We kind of floundered around for awhile," he said. "We took a trip to the Hadley School for the Blind in Wilmette, but they couldn't offer me anything." The IDVR counselor then gave Ted a packet of information full of all sorts of information explaining services for blind people. "The packet of information was one of the turning points," Ted said. "We realized there was help available. Finding out where you can get felp is one of the biggest problems. "After visiting Hadley, I hit on the idea of doing woodwork at home. I called the IDVR counselor and asked about training for power equipment." The counselor sent Ted to a place called the Visually Handicapped Institute. The institute offered a completed adjustment training program for blind persons. It is a residential institute, and Ted lived there for several months. Ted enrolled in a program called Activities of Daily Living (ADL). "ADL is only one portion of the curriculum," he said. "They teach braille, oral communication, typing, mobility training, woodshop, crafts, etc." Ted stayed at the institute during the week, and came home to McHenry on weekends. Eventually, they send you out on your own," he said. Following his training, Ted applied for his first job. It was the first of many dead ends he would run into. One of the places he visited was a place called the Lighthouse, a business which finds jobs for blind people. A man at the Lighthouse called him back and told him that there was a position with the Lighthouse for Ted. "I think our life is just as normal as anybody else," he said. That's a fact-and you don't have to "see" it to believe it.