Blindness is no bar to man on his journey to law degree

Sep 24, 2009 (Winston-Salem Journal - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- One by one, 30 or so newly minted lawyers were presented Friday afternoon for acceptance into the N.C. State Bar. Once in a while, a lawyer -- usually a family member or a friend -- formally introduced an individual candidate, and the show would move on.

When Thompson Miller rose to introduce his son, Will, those in attendance sat up and paid particularly close attention: Will Miller is blind.

Thompson Miller, a lawyer who practices in Davidson County, told the audience about his son and described his achievements with considerable pride. Will, now 33, learned he had leukemia during his first semester at Wake Forest University's law school in 1999. He had to drop out to fight for his life and lost his eyesight during that battle.

After relearning the "little" things -- how to clean his apartment, how to cook and dress himself --- Will Miller eventually made his way back to Wake Law and passed the bar exam last month.

"Usually it's sons who look up to their fathers," Thompson Miller said at the ceremony and again yesterday. "But in my case, the roles were reversed. I look at my son as a role model of courage and determination." Unusual diagnosis Will Miller, 33, doesn't consider finishing law school to be anything unusual. He recognizes it as an accomplishment -- especially with his blindness -- but at the same time, he has a hard time understanding why anybody would make a big deal over it.

"I just think it's something that ... it's hard to explain .... something that most people could accomplish if they had the same support and opportunities that I had," he said.

His own modesty notwithstanding, Miller's journey is inspirational.

He enrolled in what he now jokingly refers to as his "first first semester of law school" at Wake in 1999. About five weeks in, on a Wednesday, he noticed a gray spot in the center of his field of vision. He had a routine doctor's visit scheduled two days later so Miller figured he could wait until then to have it checked.

When he woke up that Friday, though, his vision had grown much worse. "It was like looking through a thick gray fog," he said. "I knew then I needed to get it checked immediately." His mother finagled an appointment at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, and eye doctors discovered quickly that Miller had retinal hemorrhaging. Routine blood work told doctors the cause. "I had my leukemia diagnosed by the ophthalmologists," he said.

That's when he dropped law school, beginning a long road of treatment, including a bone-marrow transplant on Feb. 4, 2000.

Long road back Once Miller's white-blood count returned to acceptable levels, doctors turned their attention to his deteriorating vision. Over the course of the next few years, he had more than 10 surgeries as he continued to experience retina problems. While that was going on, he had taken a job teaching at Lexington Middle School and liked the challenge of a new career path. But he lost his sight completely in the winter of 2003.

He moved to Raleigh for rehabilitation and said he decided there not to take himself -- or his blindness -- too seriously.

"I learned that everybody has challenges in their life, and this was going to be mine," he said.

Still undecided about his next move, he became certified in computer networking, mastered software that would help him learn and moved to Boston. He took a job there troubleshooting computer problems for a nonprofit organization that helped companies comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

"It was a little frustrating that I couldn't give concrete help," Miller said. "All I could do is say 'Here's the law. Apply it as best you can.'" That small frustration led him back to Wake's law school, where he re-enrolled in fall of 2006. He graduated earlier this year, passed the bar in August and was sworn in last week. He doesn't yet have a job lined up.

At the ceremony Friday, Miller heard his father's introduction and said he felt grateful for the support of his family throughout the journey he started 10 years ago.

"A lot of what he said he'd communicated over time, but it's always special to hear it in front of your colleagues," Miller said.

ssexton@wsjournal.com 727-7481 To see more of the Winston-Salem Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.journalnow.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, Winston-Salem Journal, N.C.

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