How a veteran found a new calling after vision loss took his career

Some people the leave workforce by choice, others are forced out by circumstance, like disability or the need for childcare.

Brian O’Connell, a 72-year-old retired Air Force aviator and JROTC instructor from Greenville, South Carolina, is one of those people. In 2016 he says he was forced to step away from teaching after losing his vision to glaucoma.

“I was diagnosed with glaucoma while I was still on active duty in the Air Force, and then about 15 years after I was diagnosed, I had a pressure spike, and that's when I experienced immediate vision loss,” O’Connell said.

O’Connell said it was difficult leaving his job, because he still enjoyed working with students and colleagues.

“It was very difficult to step away because it was not on my terms,” O’Connell said.

But O’Connell wasn’t finished yet, and a well-timed letter to the editor in his local paper was about to change his life.

To hear more of Brian’s story, click the play button above.