R. Steve Dick/University Relations
Mary Chappell, director of Recreation Services, has had to adjust to life on Mount Oread without her sight. The longtime staffer lost most of her vision a few years ago but has continued her work through determination and help from friends and colleagues.
Through her eyes
Veteran staffer adjusts to life without sight
By Lauren Beatty
Each weekday, Ruth Stoner tunes into "Mornings With Mary." It's not a new television chat show or a program on National Public Radio, it's simply what Stoner calls her daily conversations with good friend and KU colleague Mary Chappell.
Stoner, budget and personnel manager for Student Success, and Chappell, director of Recreation Services, would probably ride to work together anyway, but there is a special reason behind their carpooling: Chappell has lost most of her vision and can no longer drive herself to campus.
"It was not a conscious decision of commitment that I made on the front end," said Stoner of why she volunteered to take Chappell to work each day. "It just happened. I know she would do the same for me if roles were reversed."
Joining the Jayhawks
Chappell came to KU Recreation Services in 1982 after earning a graduate degree at Kansas State University — feel free to give her grief over that one — and working as a coach and teacher at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. By 1985, she was leading the division.She was on the University Events Committee for several years and helped KU organize and host several Special Olympics competitions. She currently supervises 10 professional staff members, four University Support Staff members, four graduate students, three interns and 300 student employees.
Her biggest undertaking has been the construction of what is now called the Ambler Student Recreation Fitness Center.
"I was involved from the beginning," said Chappell of the relatively new facility. "I came to know every square inch of the building."
That would come in handy later when she could no longer see to get around it.
Losing sight
It started with a waterskiing accident in 1995. Chappell was being pulled too fast and the resulting crash caused the retina in her left eye to detach. The right eye also was damaged. She lost vision in the left eye, but surgery corrected the torn retina in her right eye.Ten years later, Chappell began having problems with the damaged eye and went to have it fixed.
"The doctor said, 'We'll zap it in 10 minutes. You'll be OK,' " Chappell said. "But he nicked a blood vessel, and it obviously created a lot of problems."
Six surgeries later, Chappell's retina in her right eye was irreparable. Now vision in both eyes was virtually gone, though she could see light and some motion.
Chappell had been working at KU nearly 25 years when this happened, and she had no intentions of quitting.
"I didn't even think about leaving," Chappell said. "We have too much excitement going on here."
She would stay at KU, but she would need some help.
Coming to the rescue
E-mail. Incoming faxes. Budget sheets. Travel vouchers. Employee evaluations. Meeting agendas. These were the things Chappell could no longer read. She couldn't see her computer screen or the numbers on the buttons of her cell phone.The first step was to get aid from Academic Technology Services.
"When she came back to work with no vision, it was very challenging," said Paul Farran, technology support coordinator at Academic Technology Services.
Farran admits he had limited exposure to the software Chappell would need. So they learned together, he said.
What KU's tech wizards put together for Chappell is truly amazing. A fingerprint scanner allows her to log on to her computer. Dragon Naturally Speaking is a program to which she dictates commands such as "open e-mail," "read document" or "go to inbox." She also can place papers on a special scanner that will read out loud the non-electronic items she receives.
There have been bumps along the way for Chappell (sometimes her Oklahoma accent confuses the computer programs), and often it takes twice as long to accomplish a task as it used to. But Chappell has remained positive.
"Never once has she complained," said Farran. "Never once has she said, U'I can't do this.' She is the kind of person who turns challenges into opportunities."
The future
It has been two years since Chappell lost her vision. She now has reached her comfort level. There are even some small benefits to her vision loss. She says she's a much better typist than she used to be and, Chappell said, it's true that when a person loses one sense, the other four senses are piqued (she can tell every restaurant apart by smell when she is on 23rd Street, she said).Though she hasn't tried it yet, in the future she might take a KU on Wheels bus if she needs to get somewhere on campus. She would also like to see more accessible doors and improved sidewalks (she stumbles on crumbled curbs sometimes).
"My advice to anyone who needs help is that you've got to make the effort," she said. "They're not going to come to you. But with that said, KU has great people. There is a true spirit of caring, helping and giving here."
Chappell said she is particularly touched by all the people who have helped her get here — not only the Academic Technology Services staff, but her administrative assistant who marks papers with a tab where Chappell is supposed to sign them or the students who take her by the arm and help her up stairs.
"It's great coming to school every day," she said.
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