Helen Keller

When Helen Keller was just a year and a half old, a terrible illness destroyed both her hearing and her sight.  Suddenly plunged into a dark, silent world, Helen could not learn or communicate with others.  For six desperate years, she could not even form a complete thought.  Years later, Helen would describe herself during that time as "a phantom living in a no-world."  

However, thanks to an amazing teacher, Helen found her way out of that phantom life.  The new world she discovered astonished and amazed her.  Though she could neither see nor hear the world around her, she felt its awesome beauty in her heart.  "Invisible lines stretch between my spirit and the spirits of others," Helen explained.  Filled with a spirit that was brilliant, warm, unafraid, and even rebellious, Helen Keller brought a special kind of light to our world.