Parents Who Raised A Blind Girl To Believe She Was Sighted (Caroline Casey's Unique Life Story) 

She reminds me of a blonde version of Edna from The Incredibles

I have one eye that has really poor vision and one that's perfectly clear, I remember sitting in the car as a little kid saying "Grandma, isn't it cool how when you close one eye you can still see, but the other you can't?" And she panicked. I had no idea everyone wasn't the same

When I was in high school I had an eye exam, the doctor got really upset with my parents and I didn't understand why. Apparentley I had really bad vision and they never took me to the doctor. My parents asked me why I didn't tell them. I thought I could see. I remember when I got my first pair of glasses I sat outside for hours and literally I was shitting my pants. It was the best day of my life.

Molly: We're not going to be able to see who's walking past. Me: Yeah, makes sense since your backs are turned... I'm dumb.

When two blind ladies have better eye contact when talking than you!

Saw the title was like gotta watch this this is freaking crazy

Someone needs to make a movie about this woman’s life. Unbelievable

Stranger: ah legally blond I love that Blind person: no legally blind

I gotta say this: Molly looks so good in that black turtleneck/tweed jacket combo!! It looks very fancy. 🙂

Molly If you ever wanted to do a Video with a legally blind/blind mom of 4 I’d love to talk with you about the trials and tribulations I have gone through and my husband and kids have gone through with a blind wife and mom.

"there was no Molly for me growing up" THAT sentence must have really hit molly like she has made such a difference that is so powerful damn

They’re blind and yet they have a better sense of style than me Wtf

I just don't understand how her parents were okay with her living as if she were sighted but yet didn't do the same for her younger sister or didn't come clean sooner.... I couldn't do that to my child

So, by not having a "Molly Burke" growing up, she became Molly Burke's "Molly Burke." I love this story 💜💜💜

I just wonder how nobody noticed or told her for 17 years. I mean, at school... You gotta read and write, right? You gotta read from books at a regular distance, read from the board, pick other students and say their names - gotta see their faces for that - and so on. Like... how? Was everyone like involved in trying to hide this or how did that possibly work?

she must have spent years editing this. she’s literally cut every pause and breath out of the whole video😂

How could her parents do this to her? It sounds like a movie script. She was basically a science experiment.

okay molly's highlighter this whole video was literally insane, and caroline seems like such an intersting woman,im literally gonna go and watch her ted talk now

Molly, have you heard of the blind engineer who made a "Smart" cane complete with google maps, bluetooth and a sensory device?! Really cool stuff.

This was on my recommended.. I was like.. wait this beautiful purple hair girl sounds very familiar... her mannerisms her physical features.. is she an actress? Have I seen her videos before? I cannot quite pin point it.. 6 minutes in I realized who she was.. I FORGOT she was ACTUALLY Blind!! She looks at her interviewees with so much thought and intent.. she looks at the camera and talks to the camera like any normal RU-vidr.. or even BETTER than most video bloggers! I forgot her whole story and it came back like Dory when she was with Nemo and heard "Sydney".. She is such a natural. I love her!

So nice to see someone who’s blind with glasses! I’m constantly questioned why I wear glasses if I’m blind lol. Explaining that is so frustrating.

I would like to know if Caroline was ever angry at her parents, when she found out? She talks about not accepting the diagnosis for 11 years, when told when she was 17-yrs-old. On this video and her TED Talk she describes going after her dreams, and not accepting limiting labels. But, I am interested to hear more about her struggle: any anger or questioning of her parents, realization that she had more in common with her sister; not just the pep talk and activism, but the 'realness' of facing blindness.

As someone who is 20 yrs old with severe arthritis, when they started talking about invisible disability I felt that in my soul. So many people don’t understand how limited my ability is because I walk yet they don’t understand how painful it can be for me to do that simple life task but I do it to keep the most normal life I can.

13:29 "look at what this woman's doing. Molly's going to be fine" CUE THE WATERWORKS. You are both such incredible women and I admire you so deeply.

My friend and mentor Caroline Casey is one of the most fierce warriors I know. Her story, and the story of our friendship, is certainly one-of-a-kind and so is she. I'm so proud of everything she's doing with the Valuable 500 and I encourage you to learn more, get involved, and support the companies that support ALL of us. www.thevaluable500.com

Starts crying when she says “there wasn’t a Molly Burke while I was growing up” 😭😭

“Look at this woman, molly is gonna be fine” that sentence hit so fucking hard and it honestly brought me to tears hearing it and seeing Caroline’s reaction just made it more emotional like if she was just then realizing she was the first “molly”

My mum downplayed one of my diagnoses when I was a kid, she didn't want me internalising it, and feeling even more different than I already did. I was dealing with mental illness already, so she downplayed my Autism. It was absolutely done from a place of love and care, no malice intended, just doing her best for me. But honestly I think it was a mistake. The diagnosis couldn't make me differenmt, it was just a label for what I already was. Now I have the help I need, and I know that there is no such thing as being a tiny bit autistic. It's a happy ending, but I wish the culture had been there in the nineties to support mum to understand, so she could help me understand. Now we both understand, but its been a journey

oh man i teared up at "look at what this woman is doing Molly is gonna be fine" :')

the way their outfits compliment each other is EVERYTHING.

I didn’t know I was deaf until I was a sophomore in college. You don’t know what you don’t know.

I was adopted and my parents never kept it from me and my life felt pretty normal. Then, I met other people who were adopted and weren't told and, after studying some psychology in college, realized this is the perfect way to set someone up for an existential crisis. Now that I've learned this I tell every parent to be as honest with their children as possible. Knowing someone like me, who knows the truth from the start, comes out fine and lying can ruin someone's life I hope has helped avoid these things for others. I understand after talking to parents their fears are always that the child will feel different or "less" when the fact is that lying makes you feel that way, not the truth. This is exactly the experience she talks about. So, parents, BE HONEST. You can believe it's better to lie but it never ends well.

this resonates with me. im fully blind now, but when i was a child (im talking, like 4) i remember telling my father that i thought my sight was blurry and he told me to "stop being dramatic". I took it to heart and went my whole life thinking that blurry was just the normal. Through high school and around college i got my first glasses and realized i was missing out on a whole world. that was only ten years ago and last year i lost my vision completely. im sure my parents thought they were protecting me but i wish i knew so i could have enjoyed it while i had sight. i didnt know it would get worse and worse till i finally went blind. this woman is my idol.

"It's a combination of blind and blond" I DIED.

this reminds me of how i didn't know i had crippling ADHD and once i found out i realized why my life had been so hard and that now that i knew and was aware of it i can do things to help myself function, get treatments, etc. my life is so much easier now that i know strategies to get around my disorder, and that if i simply take my med in the morning it's way easier to be motivated and focus.

It's like her parents were experimenting with their kids. That's so disturbing.

Hey molly! I know you’re blind but you have hearing impaired viewers and it’d be so great to have subtitles on your videos especially on videos like this one where the audio is a bit muffled

She’s probably a shy extrovert. People confuse introvert and shy. I’m not shy but I’m an introvert.

“The loss of who I was was filled with the adventure of who I am now” that is a quote right there

These two women give one another such genuine compliments. It’s so lovely to see genuine expressions of deep admiration

I’m trynna fight these tears as soon as Caroline started crying..they are definitely soul sisters 💜

I had a nearly identical experience growing up. Of course, I've known my whole life I was an amputee (not sure how that might have been hidden). But I was not raised "disabled." None of my friends were disabled. There was one guy who was actually one of the Thalidomide babies, but he was several years older than me. But there was no one my age who was even disabled, let alone amputee. I was 19 (oddly this was 1989 for me as well) and was going to buy a parking pass to attend a community college. A friend of mine was selling the passes for the school and she refused to sell one to me, pointing out that I could use my disabled parking pass. I pointed out that 1. I didn't have one and 2. I'm not disabled. She just looked at me like I was stupid and said, "Yes, you are. You're missing a leg, that means you are disabled. It was a strange feeling. Not really like losing part of who I am. It was more like discovering a part that had always been there but it was unnoticed until that moment. So I can 100% relate to what this woman felt. My parents never really tried to hide the fact I was disabled, I just never realized it until that time. I mean, disabled people are limited in what they can do. Granted, I can't pee standing up in the middle of the night without putting my leg on, but women can't pee standing up either, and no one thinks they are disabled.

I sobbed through this. I injured my spine as a pre-teen and then developed Fibromyalgia in my 20s. The fact that so many disabilities are invisible cannot be overstated. I've had people "make sure I knew I was in a handicapped spot" so many times.

Two inspirational women!! Please do more videos together ❤️

Me: *reads title* Me: *gets popcorn*

I never realized how much a video was cut because it's usually very seamless but the moving people in the background make it very ovious ... it's very interesting and you can kind of see the process of small 1 second breaks being cut out

I felt so touched with this woman crying knowing what she have done for Molly and how she was trying to connect with her and, in the other side, Caroline already knew who Molly Burke is... I'm crying

when my parents found out I'm shortsighted they were SO angry. They actually blamed me playing video games for an actual malformation of my eyes. My dad still believes that and that makes me pissed asf

As soon as Caroline started crying, I started bawling happy tears. This was so lovely to watch. I’m so happy you to have gotten to meet and hear that you are empowering each other. That is truly amazing.

I'm sobbing. I'm literally sobbing watching this. I've never heard of this woman before, but I am albino and I feel like I'm in the place she was when she was 17-28. I've never been immersed in the albino community, but I was raised like there was nothing wrong with me. Not that I wasn't told I'm albino, but that it wasn't a big enough difference that I needed to act disabled. So internally, I coped by deflecting and pretending there was nothing wrong with me. Even if I told friends I'm visually impaired, I've always acted like and convinced myself I don't struggle a lot with this condition. but it's created so much internal social anxiety towards making friends and following my dreams, and when she said she just decided to throw her anciety to the wind and follow her dreams just made me burst into tears...because I want that. I want that freedom. To be who I want to be despite any challenge or humiliation due to social cues.

Oh my God. I just kept saying, "She is so cool." Caroline is just utterly amazing. Blind or not, the things she has done are awesome and brave.

I cried so much listening to her story. Because I grew up the same way. I did not acknowledge or come to terms with the fact that I am legally blind until I was 21. My parents ignored my visual impairment and I was expected to fake it around family and their friends. I’m still going through the feeling lost and excepting phase. I’m hoping it ends soon and I find my purpose and learn to love my disability.

8:50 “There is no greater agony than a untold story inside you” HOW HAVE I NOT HEARD THAT SAYING BEFORE!?? Because that is exactly how I’m feeling and I thought that it was really stupid to feel that way... but I guess it’s an actual thing... thank you

What a hilarious, well-spoken individual-can’t wait to watch more content!

I have Ocular Albinism too and I always thought that I could see just fine until I was diagnosed at the age of 13. Everyone always thought I was joking on sight tests and I loved this thank you so much.

In third grade I failed the eye exam that is mandatory at that age in the US, and had to go get my eyes checked. My mom was annoyed because she figured I was just tired that day. When I sat down in the chair the optometrist asked me what letters I could read on the wall... I couldn't read any. I said "none of them" and my mom started crying. She was like "why didn't you tell me?" I had a moment where I realized I hadn't been raising my hand to answer questions because I couldn't see. So funny how we just accept our world as normal. I flipped out when I got my glasses--I remember colors were so much brighter than I thought!

mollys mom: "you need to be a comedy" me: "YES PLEASE" you two together are so adorable

Caroline didn't have a Molly Burke growing up but Molly Burke had a Caroline 😭😭

isnt this basically a reversed gypsy rose blancharde case? instead of telling a healthy girl shes sick they told a sick girl shes healthy...

To be fair... I've got in someone's else car too... I have perfect eyesight.

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." -Maya Angelou

I needed to see this video today 😭😭😭 I work in a retail warehouse, and a customer pushed past me, and.i accidentally bumped into him. He said "I was going to say excuse me but I assumed you'd see me. Are you just not looking today??" My reply: I'm partially blind. His face was a picture!!!!

Oh man...when she started crying, I did too. The connection of their lives is beautiful.

It's just wonderfull how their stories entangle. Molly wouldn't be here if It wasn't for her and her. She helped this girl without knowing It and Molly became her partner, you can hear her pride.

13:14 “Look at what this woman is doing, Molly is going to be fine.” This is the moment in which I completely started crying like a mess. Such powerful words from two powerful voices.

As a man with a ocular albinism, who’s history is so different than Caroline’s, I have always found her life-story fascinating. I was raised with assistance and adaptive aids but given the freedom to discover my own limits. I believe my parents found a balance between the extreme denial of Caroline’s youth and the pervasive “helicopter parenting” we see so often today. Kudos for not letting your condition slow you down. It makes us stronger than the rest I believe. Regarding nystagmus, my eyes dance better than my feet. Stay Gold ladies! You rock!

I saw this when you uploaded, and haven't been able to get it out of the back of my mind... And I think I just figured out why: Her story makes a great analog for autistic masking. I've been reading so much about this because I'm becoming more and more sure I'm autistic but really good at masking. But it's hard to make sense of when everyone I tell (including doctors) says, "well, you've made it this far without needing supports, so you can't be *that* autistic" But that's the thing, masking is the skill of *seeming* fine. Caroline was able to convince everyone that she could see, despite being blind. How could she do that? By meeting the cultural expectations of a sighted person no matter what she had to sacrifice to do so. Same thing with autism, if you can meet the cultural expectations of a neurotypical person no one will believe that your depression and anxiety could go away if you had a few basic supports generally reserved for "lower functioning" people... I just felt the need to share this somewhere since it's helped me make sense of myself.

holy crap what an incredible story of how you two got together. the fact that caroline had just come to the conclusion of how shed been living her life and decided to go on that trip during a time when she felt so sad but then that inspired MOLLY to live a life that caroline up to that point, now in retrospect, wished she had lived..... and now she does and does these incredible things and is such a light and now these two are friends. and molly ended up inspiring HER.. thats incredible. the depth to this story is so beautiful. like damn. the universe knew what it was doing. thank you for sharing this. and letting her tell her story on your channel. her personality is addicting and what shes doing is amazing.

At 14:55 I think there’s a picture of Molly on that screen! If it’s not her then it’s definitely a doppelgänger

Getting on disability is so hard when you look normal. I've had epilepsy since age 10. And I've had to lie to every employer that I've worked for to get a job. Then the epilepsy did start effectively start to cause problems in 2003. And had to stop driving and walk 3 steps ahead of myself to make sure I was safe. If something should happen. However it's never stopped me from doing anything. I just do it differently. If I have to mostly not. Am 43 and finally got approved for disability in 2010 after a long fight. It can be hard, I hid it for so long. Going from friends, girlfriends. Then something clicked. I need to come out of the shadows. And tell my story to my friends so they would understand. This was before the internet. No Google, for them to learn more. So I wish I could tell my story. Theres just no groups in my area. Thank you Molly, you are an amazing person. That I highly respect in the disiblity community.

So please help me understand this. She didn’t know she was blind - but just that she needed glasses. Over 17 years, how did she manage everyday functions like taking lecture notes at school? Understanding movies? Biking and reading signs? How did she manage to “fit in” with all of these tasks?

"I'm half extrovert and half introvert" I feel that in my soul

MY OLD TEACHER WALKED PAST!!!!!! UwU

It's so fun to see them feeding off each other's natural energy. 😁

I didn't know I was short-sighted until my last primary school year when my Spanish teacher looked over my shoulder at the whiteboard and jokingly said "if you can't see the board you need glasses", turns out I did need glasses. Since then, multiple pairs of glasses later, I now can't clearly see detail any further away than a few millimeters away from the end of my nose without my glasses, if I don't get my glasses lens thinned then the lens would be thick enough that my natural lashes would sweep against them. When I was really young I had quit ballet dancing because I kept getting told off for not following the dance moves that I couldn't see, I thought everyone couldn't see that far.

This is really a rollercoaster of a story - both of you are incredible for sharing your truth and I love the way your lives intertwine.

I grew up in an abusive home (in many ways) and it was always one of two things: You know you can't do that because of (insert my disabilities) OR You just don't want to get better, you're not trying. Fun fact, I found out just how bad my vision was when my family pushed me to learn to drive too! That's how I found out I have no peripheral vision.

it's trippy how the reflection in the glass is reversed...

I am legally blind myself, and listening to you guys motivates me to become a more self empowered blind woman. I went blind from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. And ever since God gifted me with a second chance at life, I’ve made it a goal of mine to discover that confidence within myself. It’s one thing when others uplift us, but it’s a totally different feeling when we are the ones uplifting ourselves. And the two of you are a good reminder that no matter what our circumstances are, we can be as self empowered as we want to be. It’s all dependent on our perspectives in life. Thank you for being a good reminder for people like me. 💖

I think it was amazing when Molly goes to give a high five to Caroline, which she could not see. You both just laugh and go on talking. You go girls!

This may be because I'm on my period, but I was crying throughout this whole thing

This is really heart warming

"Combination of blonde & blind" lmao LOVE HER!

I love her accent. The Irish accent is so musical sounding

As a blind person, I can relate to so much in this video and many others of yours. It takes a lot to make me emotional, but this made me tear up. We truly can do and accomplish anything. It’s so much better to accept our condition than to act like it doesn’t exist. I am an advocate for people with disabilities and you motivate me. Thanks Molly❤️🤗

I didn’t understand how could she not know she was blind until 17. How did she walk alone?

never been more proud to be from this little rainy island in the middle of the atlantic ☘️ 🇮🇪🇮🇪

I was diagnosed with Narcolepsy at the age of 17 and my entire life changed. For a while, I felt lost; the life I had known for the past 17 years was no longer my reality. It was so hard accepting that I had a disability, but now at the age of 20 I'm becoming more confident about expressing this new version of me. Narcolepsy has shed a light on the disabled community and given me a community of my very own. I love the work you guys are doing, keep it up!

Thank for speaking out for disabilities. I might not have a physical disability but grew up with some hard learning disabilities in reading and writing. I was told that I couldn’t go to college in elementary school but not only did I end up going to college I ended up getting a masters degree in a writing heavy major with a high gpa. Your passion and love to inspire people is heart warming. Thank you for never giving up and encourage people to do the same!

I'm considered legally blind and I was born that way. When I was a kid I had to visit the eye doctor every 6 months because they thought I had degenerative myopia and was gonna go blind. My prescription changed drastically every time I went back. Thank god that my vision is now coming to a plateau, and barely changes when I go each year. Technology is so advanced now they make contacts ~almost~ strong enough for me so I don't have to wear my coke bottles everyday lol. I will say, that seeing your channel and this video makes me so so so grateful that I have the vision I have because it could be so much worse. I still have a small chance of rental detachment but seeing how you guys survive without sight makes me feel like even if I were to go blind I can have a great life.💓

This made me cry. I’m so happy to be in this community and have people like you two. Change is coming, I can feel it!

This is the best thing I've seen in a while. Two women utterly inspired by each other, and using that as fuel to push the line forward. We need more of this.

This is the most beautiful thing ever. I’m Irish and I’m so touched. I love ur videos molly and now I’m so happy I know about now Caroline as well

Holy moly. She is INCREDIBLE. (You both are!!) It’s crazy how life comes full circle. 💕

This has to be the sweetest, most empowering woman I’ve seen in a very long time. Thank you for telling us your story

I started crying when Molly talked about being as empowered as she is now because of Caroline's journey, even though Caroline herself wasn't fully empowered at the time... We never know how what we do will affect others, or how much we can help others even when we don't have ourselves completely together. What a beautiful thing!

caroline has such a delightful personality and attitude! what a wonderful story, thank you for sharing 💕☺️

2 absolutely amazing and inspiring women, I’m blown away. Thank you representing invisible disability. I’m blessed to have my sight, but my body is wriddled with an incurable and degenerative invisible disability which has me impaired and in pain 24/7, that’s not including the acute times every day and the flare ups also. Thank you, just thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Molly I'm always in awe when I hear you speak You have so much wisdom and maturity in you it's incredible. I got tears in my eyes from this conversation. You're both very inspiring

I can’t even explain how much I loved this. I am not blind, but I appreciate how devoted both of you are to your cause. I cried so much hearing about Caroline’s story and how that inspired your parents because it just goes to show how much of a difference something like that can make.