By GLORIA ALEFF, Courier Correspondent

NEW HAMPTON --- The morning sun radiated brightly the day Darlene Miller left home to enroll at North Iowa Area Community College. In the car, though, she noticed the vision in her left eye starting to blur, despite the fact she was wearing new glasses.

"It was like I was driving in a fog."

Miller traveled from New Hampton to see her optometrist in Cedar Falls. He told her a blood vessel had broken in the eye's retina. Within hours, a specialist referred Miller to the University of Iowa Retinal Clinic with a firm admonition.

"'You must go now,'" she remembers. "I told him, 'Make the appointment for the morning.'"

By the afternoon, a specialist in Switzerland was involved.

The physicians eventually put a name on Miller's condition --- pseudoxanthoma elasticum.

The disease is an inherited disorder that affects connective tissue, which collects calcium and other minerals, according to a Web site maintained by PXE International. The result can affect the skin, eyes and cardiovascular and gastrointestinal systems. Researchers estimate the rare condition afflicts as many as 1 in 25,000 people worldwide, though the figure is difficult to know with certainty. There is no cure.

The disease also attacked Miller's internal organs and she endured numerous surgeries, including a hysterectomy. For years, she also had migraine headaches, often, several times a week.

In March 2002, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy. As she began chemotherapy, Miller started losing vision in her right eye. Despite laser eye surgeries over several years, Miller was classified as legally blind Oct. 30, 2002.

Even with her multiple medical, Miller finds ways to inspire.

"God gives me what I can handle to strengthen my faith."

She doesn't complain and often laughs about her disability, telling stories about how people approach her on the street. Recently, she took Tages, her guide dog, to the Chickasaw Centre in New Hampton.

Sue Pleggenkuhle, Chickasaw County coordinator for the Hawkeye Valley Area Agency on Aging, said the center attracts others senior citizens with eyesight issues. Miller's message was well-received.

"Darlene shared how you can keep having a good quality of life, even with failed eyesight. With humor, she shared how she is handling her own loss of vision," Pleggenkuhle said.

Miller also visits schools. To make a point about her vision, she asks students to look through a sheer curtain.

"This is what I see."

Miller uses a computer to enlarge words and pictures. In the morning, she reads her Bible. On Nov. 29, she was able to read cards for her 56th birthday.

Miller used to depend on her husband Greg's arm and a white cane in public. In 2004, Gerald Johnson, a neighbor, asked if a leader dog might prove helpful.

"Sure, but we can't afford one,'" Miller remembers.

A trained guide dog costs $38,000. Johnson, a member of New Hampton Lions Club, offered to ask the group if they would sponsor the effort.

Lions Clubs International is recognized worldwide for service to people who are blind and visually impaired. The mission began when Helen Keller challenged Lions to become "knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness" during the organization's convention in 1925.

The New Hampton Lions agreed with Johnson's proposal, and this summer Miller became the first person in Chickasaw County to receive a leader dog through the club.

"Darlene is a very brave woman," Johnson said.

Miller obtained Tages from Leader Dogs for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Rochester, Mich. She was accepted for a mobility class using her cane and on July 30 met Tages. The pair worked together for two weeks.

"I learned commands. We went to the mall, grocery stores. The instructors took us into traffic. We went all over the city," Miller said.

The new team arrived Aug. 24 at Miller's home.

When not working, the 21-month old yellow lab runs around the house. Once in the harness, though, he is a different animal. He also wears a sign that reads, "Don't pet me. I am working."

"After we go to a location once, Tages remembers it. I can tell him we are going to Dollar General and he remembers and takes me there," Miller said.

"I feel safe on the streets with Tages with me."

Contact Gloria Aleff at newsroom@wcfcourier.com.

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Guide dogs change New Hampton woman's life

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