Michael Cross

In 1955, at age eight, I lost over 90 percent of my vision, but I remained in public school, eventually becoming co-valedictorian of my high school in Pasadena, Texas, and I earned advanced degrees in mathematics from the University of Houston. I interned at NASA, and then had a career as a programmer, retiring after twenty years at IBM. This memoir tells my story as a blind student and my life afterward, but it also is about my family. I was the eldest of three children raised by Ray and Regena Cross, two wonderful, caring parents. My younger brother Tracy had Type I Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) or "brittle bone disease," but he also had an infectious sense of humor and became an amazing guitar player. Younger sister Kay had no disability, and is a great sister with many talents. In 2003, I entered Criss Cole Rehabilitation Center in Austin, Texas to connect with the blind community and learn how to live more independently. I currently live in Austin with my loving wife Karen.