LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville attorney is doing her part to keep area roads safe. For her, it means going the extra mile and inspiring others along the way.
It's a typical day at the office for Assistant Jefferson County Attorney Tracey Frazier, as she goes though the morning case files. However, for Frazier, the process goes a little differently. "I did not realize that her sight was impaired until about two-thirds of the way into the proceeding. I was stunned by her presence," said Mike O'Connell, Jefferson County Attorney.
Frazier went blind at 16, a result of a condition known as macular degeneration. "I don't have any shapes, shadows or colors. It's just varying degrees of light, not light," Frazier said.
It could be devastating at times. "Probably the most joyful and horrible time was all rolled up in one, was when my children were born. To not see what your baby looks like, and to not know what they grew into," she said.
Frazier had dreams of going to law school. "I was going to change the world," she said.
That dream would be met with doubt after talking to a local college's dean of students. "He told me that blind people can't be lawyers, that sighted people don't get into law school, sighted people don't make it through law school, and even if you make it through law school, how in the world would you take the bar exam? If you passed it, who would hire a blind lawyer?" she said.
It is a conversation she won't forget. "I said, 'I don't know. I'll figure something out. I'm a smart kid.' He said, 'oh honey, you're not that smart,'" she said.
She ended up changing her major. "The biggest mistake I made was believing him," she said.
She eventually worked around the legal field, keeping kids out of the system and creating a DUI program. "I just realized that no, I don't want to be on this side. I want to be over there, and so at 37, married with three kids, working full time, I decided to try law school," she said.
One of two known blind graduates of U of L's law school, Frazier now oversees her department. "Don't be misled in regards to her disability, because that does not stop her," says Felipe Hernandez, Deputy Sheriff for the Jefferson County Courthouse.
With some help from a brailler and a reader, Frazier takes care of the rest. "When Tracey needs to make contact with a jury, it's not with her eyes. It's with her heart and her speech and her passion for what she does, and that's remarkable," O'Connell said.
Frazier said it's a lesson in setting your own boundaries, and not to let anything stand in your way.
"Quit feeling sorry for yourself, whining about what may not be going your way and hitch up your pants and see what you can accomplish when you want to, and she's a great example of that," O'Connell said.
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