“Eye Knew I Could Do It”

Written by: Kelly Bergersen

Christopher Bergersen, a fifty-year-old man, has been living with a hidden disability for most of his life. This impairment is only noticeable to those that truly know him. For most of his life, Chris has survived and thrived in silence.

In an interview, we uncovered that Chris is legally blind in his right eye. Just by looking at him, you could never tell there was anything wrong. When he was eight-years-old, he fell ill and seemingly lost his sight. Since those younger years, he has grown and developed ways to overcome this travesty. Chris explained that he “lost sight in his [my] right eye at the age of eight, and had to learn how to handle all tasks in life with diminished sight and no depth perception.” This illness was called Uveitis. It went unnoticed for a long enough period that led to permanent blindness in his right eye.

An impairment of this magnitude changes someone’s life forever. Luckily, Chris was well into his youth so he learned new methods of overcoming such challenges. For the last forty-two years he has adapted and has grown to live with this new version of himself. He never blamed anyone or became disgruntled; he never let this hardship define him. He shared that:

“It definitely taught me how to persevere. I think it kinda put a chip on my shoulder to keep up accomplishing anything that any other normal person could do. It taught me adaptability at a young age. I was forced to have a couple eye surgeries by the time I was ten years old and I learned how to deal with fear and adversity from a young age while still maintaining a positive attitude.”

During this interview, Chris noted how often people are shocked when they hear about his struggles. He is widely known as a hardworking, and extremely diligent person that never fails to accomplish what he sets his mind to do. Although he has conquered life with this disability, he was held back from many things. He always had a dream to follow in the footsteps of his brothers before him. He was one of six children. His aspirations grew large when he decided for himself, that one day he would serve in the military. Chris often reflects on these dreams of his that couldn’t be fulfilled.

“One of my life-long goals was to join the military and as a junior in high school I was able to secure a Congressional nomination and get accepted to West Point. During my senior year, the last part of the application process was to take a basic physical exam, at which point they discovered I was blind in one eye, and therefore could not attend west point. It was a crushing development and another example of adversity that I had to overcome in my life.”

This was devastating to not only him, but his family. His mother and father were crushed because not because they wanted him to enlist, but because they knew how badly he wanted it for himself. He has always been an old soul, and firmly believed that men should serve their country and provide for their families. Not being able to fulfill this goal of his left him with a slight emptiness that was later filled by the meeting of his current wife and the two wonderful kids he has had the privilege to raise.

He currently resides in Farmingdale living with his wife and two children. Every day he gets up for work and touches the lives of those he teaches. The Levittown School District is lucky to have his expertise. Chris was a student through the Levittown School District which makes it special for him to continue to forge a path and leave a legacy for himself. Chris attests his prevailing life to the events that occurred in his past. He was asked a million-dollar question: If you could go back in time and change what happened to you, would you? His response was anything but a surprise:

“Definitely no. Being denied admission to Army West Point, set me on my path where I met my wife during my college years and was able to put roots down and establish our current family. Had I gone on into the military, I doubt my life would have yielded the beautiful wife and children I now have. I wouldn’t change this life for the world. I am so very blessed.”

If we can take anything from this remarkable story, let it be the fact that resilience, strength, and determination can lend itself to a happy and wholesome life. Christopher Bergersen was able to overcome adversity and pave the way for a beautiful life. His mental toughness should inspire us all to employ similar attributes in our own lives. Wise words to live by:

“I truly believe that everything happens for a reason and that God has a plan for our lives.”

Disclaimer: This interview was conducted by his daughter, Kelly Bergersen. She has felt so much pride and joy watching her dad overcome such difficulties in his life. She attests all of her success and character development to observing her father. He has provided and shown up for his family time and time again. It is an inspiring story. This rare disease took so much from Chris Bergersen, and he managed to make a beautiful life out of it. He was not dealt the best hand in life, and yet continued to forge a wonderful situation for himself.