Episode 154: Carlos Alvarez

Uninvisible Pod with Lauren Freedman

Overview

At the age of 16, doctors diagnosed Carlos Alvarez as completely blind in his right eye; the sight in his left eye had deteriorated to 73% as a result of congenital glaucoma. When Carlos was 19 years old, he went through eye surgery — but the operation was not successful. He lost all remaining sight, leaving him with permanent sight loss. A person of deep faith, he constantly reframed this experience of loss into one of abundance, telling himself: “sometimes God removes something you never thought you'd lose, to provide you with something you never thought you'd have.” Before losing his sight, Carlos had responded to school bullying by learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (known as BJJ by those who practice the sport), a martial art with similarities to Judo. Despite the onset of his disability, and at the encouragement of his cousin, he continued to learn BJJ…and now competes (frequently winning!) as a black belt. He also became passionate about teaching others living with sight loss, helping them improve their quality of life and confidence in their abilities. He now provides BJJ lessons to the blind community through Gama Filho Martial Arts in Miami, Florida, and reminds us that he knows first-hand what it's like to live with a feeling of defenselessness after losing one’s sight; with a fear of falling, getting lost, or the vulnerability of potentially being robbed, struggling to find employment, or being abandoned. In his own way, Carlos has given back to his community through his teaching of the Blind Warriors, and inspires others to take their destinies into their own hands, no matter what level of ability they start from.

Key Links

Key links mentioned in this episode:

Carlos Alvarez

Gama Filho Martial Arts

Takeaway

Tune in as Carlos shares:

* that despite vision problems growing up, he didn’t know he had glaucoma until he was 16 years old

* the day he completely lost vision in his right eye — and how this led to the discovery that he had been born with congenital glaucoma

* his emotional reaction to his diagnosis

* that despite his deep faith, he questioned it when he was first diagnosed

* how martial arts helped him to regain his happiness and confidence

* why Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) is particularly adaptable to sight loss: there is no striking in the art, but it’s more of a grappling experience — and, as Carlos tells us, “your hands become your eyes”

* that disability care in his home country of Ecuador is not widely distributed

* the stigma and misconceptions about blindness that he strives to shift in his work

* the importance of independence to him, as a person living with sight loss

* how he is leveraging his skill in BJJ to help others with visual impairment to face their fears

* how his work has taught him to break through his own limited mindset

* that he has a wonderful guide dog to aid him in his independence

* instances of prejudice that he’s encountered when out with his service dog

* his hope for the future of inclusion in his sport

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