The Ultimate Gift

Jim Stovall is a big guy. He has the body of a weight lifter and was a national champion in that sport. In high school in the 1970s, Stovall dreamed of playing in the National Football League, but his doctors informed him that he had a progressive eye ailment, macular degeneration, which would take his sight. By his late 20s, Stovall had full blindness.

Stovall, as he tells his story, almost gave up. Afraid of a world he could no longer see, he sequestered himself at home. He finally realized, he said: “This isn’t living. This is only existing. I’m not going to lose any more of my sight, but if I continue to sit here, I’m going to lose my life” (Gamble, Jane Jayroe. “Seeking God Gives Vision and Purpose, Says Blind Author and Speaker.” The Oklahoman, 2 Oct. 2021). Though deeply religious, Stovall understood that he had to cease using his religious practices to hide from the world.

Stovall rebounded, became an investment broker, and founded the Narrative Television Network, which adds descriptive narration to movie and TV scenes so that people with blindness or visual impairment can better engage with those visual media.