January 20, 2007 - Emma Graduates

Raised by Tom O’Connor and Robin Marshall

Montgomery County, MD

Mary Jeanne Hemesath has come from St. Paul, Minnesota, for Emma, her fifth dog from Guiding Eyes for the Blind. Mary Jeanne lost her sight at the age of 27 from retinitis pigmentosa. Initially directed to GEB by a friend at a school for the blind in Arkansas, Mary Jeanne remembers well that her first contact with the school was "like magic.” Mary Jeanne is an active volunteer for organizations that serve the mentally handicapped. She is a meeting coordinator for Faith and Light, a world-wide organization whose meetings consist of doing fun things together, singing and prayer. She is also a volunteer at Vision Loss Resources. She describes Emma as "beautiful with angel wings - she glitters like a diamond!" She fully expects that they will do everything together: travel, walk and won't think twice before setting out on new adventures. Mary Jeanne describes Guiding Eyes for the Blind as a big family unit that takes in total strangers and treats them as family members. “GEB is the best school in the world for the blind as well as those with other disabilities.”