Luling man inspires others to overcome disability

Luling’s Derrick Francis wants people to know that a disability will only stop you in life if you allow it to.

He’s a shining example.

At the age of 3, Francis was declared profoundly deaf. That disability came about so early that it’s all Francis has ever really known; he adapted somewhat naturally as he grew up.

Perhaps the more jarring strike, though, came at the age of 28, when Francis learned he was also beginning to lose his sight.

“I was in Houston,” he recalled. “I was noticing differences in my sight, so I went to Wal-Mart to get my eyes checked. They saw something in the back of my eye, so I went off to see a specialist.”

That specialist told Francis he had retinitis pigmentosa — and that his sight would continue to get worse. ‘What can we do,’ I asked, and they told me, ‘Oh no, there’s no cure for this,’” Francis said. “It’s been very hard and tough to swallow.”

Soon, he learned why this was the case. Francis was diagnosed with Type 3 Usher Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder caused by a mutation in any one of at least 11 genes resulting in hearing loss and visual impairment. Hearing loss and retinis pigmentosa are the diseases major symptoms.

Today, Francis is both legally blind and deaf. “Once I learned that was the case, I knew I had to figure out how to survive in the world,” he said.

He’s done that, but simply getting by well on his own wasn’t something he found satisfying enough. Francis is a driven individual who wishes to make a positive impact on the world and inspire others. He’s been proactive in doing so in a number of ways, the best example being the organization he’s established: A Class of Our Own, a non-profit organization seeking to bring support for Usher Syndrome research and awareness.

“I wanted to do something to help others understand and relate (to the illness),” Francis said. “There’s very few of us, and because of that we’re kind of invisible to the world. I want to do something about this. By any means, I want to show the world that even if you’re legally blind and deaf, you can still do what you do.”

Francis played football at Hahnville High School, helping the Tigers earn the 1994 state championship —“I was pretty quick back then,” he laughed — and has stayed in shape and busy athletically, even if he’s a bit restricted as to what he can participate in. But his new calling is helping his fellow man.

“When you’re playing sports, once it’s in you, no matter what, it’s still about responding to a challenge,” Francis said. “They’ll ask me if I still play basketball and, I mean, I can’t like I used to, but I still come out here and shoot … my response is that put my passion into something else, in this case my organization.

It’s real fun. Get up every morning , look forward to doing it. I know it’s gonna help a lot of people. When people see my story, it can inspire them. ‘If he can do it, so can I.’”Jeanne Arabie has known Francis since he was just five years old, and she says he’s always been a positive influence on the people around him.

“We love him like he’s our own,” said Arabie. “He’s special … it’s his personality. He touches people in a certain way. Just his outlook on life. He’s been through a lot, and that has not stopped him.”

Francis is also a regular at River Parish CrossFit, where his perseverance inspires others.

“We complain sometimes about our own little ailments, but when you see Derrick in there working like he does, our excuses really are invalid,” said Raymond Guidry, owner of River Parish CrossFit. “We like to say you can either make excuses or get results, and he’s the epitome of the latter.”Francis believes in setting that example.

“God taught me, walk by faith, not by sight,” he said. “I’ve discovered a lot of people who have been so supportive of me. They motivate me to motivate them.”

 

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