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 DANIEL PATTON - SEWING MACHINE OPERATOR
Daniel was born prematurely in 1951. Sudden exposure to oxygen that helped save his life also caused retinopathy of prematurity.
Unfortunately the schools in Memphis, Tennessee were ill-equipped to deal with blind or vision impaired children but lucky for Daniel there was a Lion’s Club vision impaired school. It was quite a distance away but his Dad drove him and picked him up every day. By 7th grade Daniel assimilated into the public school system and graduated from high school.
After high school Daniel took a business college course in bookkeeping and accounting….but wanderlust got the better of him and Daniel decided to hitchhike throughout the country. From San Diego to Kansas City, MO Daniel held a multitude of odd jobs. His Dad was in the construction business and taught him well…..so finding work was never an issue.
After a few years Daniel thought it was time to go home to Memphis to be with his family. That lasted a few years when in 1978 the itch to travel popped up again. Daniel found himself in Austin where he stayed until 2002. He had several different careers but the longest was with Texas Dept of Health – 16 years. Over that time period Daniel worked in the mailroom, maintenance, carpentry, auto-mechanic, painting, plumbing and running their graphic sign shop. A man of many facets!
In 2000 while in Austin, Daniel woke up one morning and realized his peripheral vision was gone. The eye doctor told him that he had a detached Retina – they were able to go in and repair it and his vision became a little clearer.
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In 2002 Daniel’s wife wanted to move out of Austin to San Antonio – and Daniel, a man of adventures, followed. He went to work for a Trophy company when he realized his vision was getting worse again and that he was having difficulty doing his job.
Daniel called the Commission for the Blind and they recommended that he get in touch with the San Antonio Lighthouse. December 2005 Daniel officially became a part of the San Antonio Lighthouse family as a sewing machine operator. Daniel had never used a sewing machine before but with expert training he became proficient.
To give you some insight into Daniel – When his vision became worse he voluntarily turned in his driving license so he would not be responsible for hurting anyone. After his successful detached Retina surgery he was able to get it back. He leaves the house at 5:30 AM to catch the first of three busses he must take every day to get to the Lighthouse.
Daniel’s peers shares that he is always willing to help out, they can always count on him, a fabulous positive attitude, a very hard worker……and a really interesting guy to boot!
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