Lisa Reid with guide dog Ami, daughter Maddison, partner Darren McManaway and his son Keegan. Photo / Kenny Rodger
Lisa Reid with guide dog Ami, daughter Maddison, partner Darren McManaway and his son Keegan. Photo / Kenny Rodger
KEY POINTS:
Numbers and dates are big for Lisa Reid.
It has been 20 years since she was diagnosed with a brain tumour, seven years since she regained her sight, her daughter and "little miracle" has started school and her beloved guide dog Ami has retired after 11 years ofservice.
The 31-year-old made headlines in 2000 when she miraculously regained partial eyesight after knocking her head. Doctors have been unable to explain the medical miracle.
She had bent to kiss Ami good night, but instead knocked her head on a coffee table. When she woke the following morning she could see for the first time in 10 years.
Since her story first appeared, Ms Reid has been interviewed by more journalists than she can remember from high-profile news groups such as the BBC, CNN and the New York Times.
And seven years later she is still a celebrity.
"Without a word of a lie at least one person a day will come up to me on the street and say, 'Hey how are you going?"'
Ms Reid developed a brain tumour when she was 11, causing her to lose sight three years later. Doctors gave her a 5 per cent chance of living and also said she would never see again.
This week, 20 years after being diagnosed with cancer, Ms Reid shows no signs of slowing down.
"I rang up my surgeon and said, 'Thanks for saving my life, you're awesome.' My friends took me out for lunch to celebrate the anniversary and gave me a card and I thought to myself, 'Hey I can read this.'
"It may sound funny but it's the coolest thing ever to be buzzing over little things like bright drink labels. It's like being a little kid again in a way."
A lot has changed since the Herald last spoke to Ms Reid. It was 2002, she'd just had baby Maddison and was set to marry her fiance Rob Williams. The pair have since parted ways.
"As I found out, not everything works out the way you think it will. You have to go through the hard times to get to the good. But I've got a beautiful daughter and she's safe."
There's a new man in Ms Reid's life and she couldn't be happier. She met Darren McManaway, 34, who works in IT, on the internet.
"I've finally reached a point in my life where I feel content. Everything is perfect, he is a lovely, lovely man and respects me."
Maddison, 5, is a new entrant at Belmont Primary School.
"I think she understands that I used to be blind," Ms Reid said.
"She had to do a speech at school the other day and she talked about Ami and how she is allowed to go on the bus, to the movies or on the ferry because 'she's my Mummy's eyes'."
Ami was officially retired as a guide dog this year and Ms Reid is yet to put her name on the waiting list for another one.
"She's not really a dog, she's my little girl. She's a nut-case like me, she's full of beans. You know how little puppies chase their tails? Ami still does that. She likes having play-dates so I'm sure she would be okay with another dog around the house."
Ms Reid still suffers from migraines and fatigue since regaining her eyesight, making it difficult for her to work, but she said she'd like to one day become a counsellor.
In 2001 she wrote about her medical miracle in Angel Eyes and included more revelations such as her fiance's drug addiction, an abortion, rape at a teenage party, almost starving to death and the pain caused by her father's abandonment of the family.
"If things are meant to be, they're meant to be. You can't just wrap yourself in cotton wool and hope everything goes away. I have been on a journey and it has made me grow. I'm not nearly as bad off as some people."
And what about that coffee table? "I still have it. It's famous, it's in my living room."
