May 24, 2007 12:52 am US/Pacific
Local Blind Teen Overcomes New Challenge
by Dennis Shanahan
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ―
At first glance, Ben Underwood is like any other teenager. He usually stays busy playing video games, having pillow fights and roller blading down his street. But Ben does all this without the benefit of eyesight after cancer claimed his eyes when he was two-years-old. To walk down the street with Ben is to be amazed at what he can see with his ears.
"Well, there's a fire hydrant on the side and a car on this side. Wait, oh wait, is that a trash can or, hold on, let me see ..that's a trash can," said Ben.
His mother Aquanetta never put limits on Ben.
"We have to give our kids confidence. We give them pride. Empower him with who he is, and be proud of who you are, no matter what."
Nobody could have predicted the hardship Ben is facing tonight. It started just before Mother's Day when he complained to his mom about a headache.
"They did a CAT Scan at South Sacramento Kaiser and at that time, they saw what looked like blood on the brain," said Aquanetta.
Yesterday, doctors at Kaiser in Oakland removed a lemon-sized tumor that was rapidly growing between his brain and sinus cavity. It was a 10-hour surgery. Aquanetta says Ben went into it with courage and a lot of prayer.
"I said, 'well, what did god tell you?' He said, 'well, he just told me to kick back and relax'," said Aquanetta. "They got it all and it did not penetrate his brain, and it was supposedly on the brain."
Ben spends a lot of his life teaching other people how to deal with hardships. That's exactly what he continues doing from this hospital bed tonight.
"He is encouraging other people's lives," said Aquanetta. "So Ben's got something to do and after he came out of the surgery, I said, 'Ben, you know you have some work to do right?' He says, 'yeah mom, I know.' He knows what he's got to do because he knows it's not about him, and he knows it's about serving other people."
Ben and his mom tour the country speaking to large groups and plan to continue traveling just as soon as Ben is able.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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