When Shanae Ross lost her sight at age 22, she felt like her whole life had been taken from her. She retreated from her social life and was afraid to leave the house.

"I really didn't want to be a prisoner, but I was for about six months," said the 24-year-old Hanford resident. "You still want to go and hang out with your friends, but they don't even know how to deal with you, let alone you deal with yourself," Ross said.

Now, two years later, she's come a long way. She has her own apartment, goes to college part-time and works part-time as a braille instructor at the Valley Center for the Blind in Fresno.

Ross began losing her sight in April 2005. She learned in May 2005 that a brain tumor had begun deteriorating her optic nerve.

Her sight gradually diminished over a period of three months.

"It was hard, very, very hard, and by it being gradual, it was like every day it was a little less ... so I think that made it really tough," Ross said. "Many times I didn't want to go to sleep because I knew I would wake up and it would be this change in something, because it was consistent daily, so it really affected my sleep pattern. I couldn't eat, and just pretty much was depressed and stayed at home."

The tumor was removed in June 2005 at a San Francisco hospital, but by then it was too late.

Doctors told her that her sight was gone and they wouldn't be able to bring it back.

"I definitely felt like I lost my freedom -- the choice to be able to get up and go, to just grab your keys and just leave, I definitely didn't have that outlet anymore. I usually needed to wait for someone to take me where I needed to go. I had to give up my social life, most of my friends disappeared."

Support from her family and two organizations for the blind helped her climb out of her depression.

Upon recommendation from the school principal of her elementary school, she began utilizing services at the Valley Center for the Blind, where she learned living and mobility skills and received counseling.

Then in September 2005, she began a six-month residential program at the Junior Blind of America organization in Los Angeles.

There she learned that blind people could lead independendent lives.

"The instructors were brilliant," she said. "They were totally blind and maintaining homes and full-time jobs. That's where I found my role models."

Currently, her goal is to be fully independent and to be a role model to others like her.

"I really take it personal to be a role model for the blind community, there's a lot of stereotypes about blind people and I've heard them and I really don't like them and I'm just trying to be the person to change that."

She works four hours a week teaching braille at the Valley Center for the Blind and is taking three college classes at West Hills College, Lemoore.

Ross, a former Hanford High basketball player who was a reserve for the Bullpups' 2001 Division 2 state championship team, once wanted to be a basketball coach.

Now she plans to go on to California State University, Fresno to attain a bachelor's degree in sociology and become a rehabilitation counselor for the blind.

At West Hills, when not in class, she's usually working on her class work in the college's Disabled Students Program and Services lab. There she has access to computers with JAWS screen-reading software and scanning equipment. She uses the scanner to scan in handouts from class and the JAWS program to read information back to her.

She learned how to use JAWS and other computer software through classes on the Junior Blind of America campus.

Susanne Heskett, a DSPS instructor, said she and her staff have learned a lot from Ross, instead of the other way around.

"I think she's educating us in what blind students are able to do -- not what they're not able to do," Heskett said. "She amazes me every day, the level of independence. I don't know if that's a reflection of everyone who is blind, or just her character."

However, outside the classroom, Ross is still trying to learn how to navigate the wide-open spaces of the campus.

"You have nothing to keep you oriented, nothing to bounce sounds off of," Ross said.

To better learn the campus, she takes different routes to her classes, allowing herself 45 minutes of travel time in case she gets disoriented or lost.

"I figure if I get lost, it's a learning experience," Ross said.

Ross said her guide dog, a 2-year-old Labrador retriever named Claudio, helps her a lot, but still she needs to know where to direct him.

"The dog will get you there, but you have to know where you're going," she said.

To get to school, or work, she often takes the bus or has friends or family members drive her.

Ross also has a provider that cooks meals for her, helps her clean house, pay bills, or drives her to the grocery store or other errands.

She said having once been able to see, helps her relate better.

"I'm definitely very thankful that I did have sight at one time, because now I'm able to refer back to things when people describe color or things. I have an image in the back of my mind when people say certain things, so I do have that reference."

When she's not at school or working, Ross said she enjoys spending time with friends and family, reading books (with braille), listening to music or playing movies and television shows.

She said it doesn't matter that she can't see the picture.

"It's actually better, because I can make up what I want," she said with a grin. "Especially standup comedy -- you don't really need the visual to get the punchline."

Even with all that she has lost, Ross said her faith helps her remain positive.

"I do believe in a higher power and that I'm protected at all times," she said.

She adds that one positive thing she's gained from losing her sight is that she now appreciates what she has.

"Life is beautiful," she said. "I'm a strong believer in you might as well live your life to your fullest -- live every day like it's your last because it just might be."

The reporter can be reached at 582-0471, ext. 3052.

(Sept. 10, 2007)