An illness left young Helen Keller deaf and blind. Her parents were determined to find help for their daughter. After doing some research, her "father heard of an eminent oculist in Baltimore, who had been successful in many cases that had seemed hopeless" (The Story of My Life, Chapter III). Hopeful, Helen's parents brought her on a train from Alabama to Baltimore. They hoped the oculist could recommend a treatment for Helen's eyesight....
An illness left young Helen Keller deaf and blind. Her parents were determined to find help for their daughter. After doing some research, her "father heard of an eminent oculist in Baltimore, who had been successful in many cases that had seemed hopeless" (The Story of My Life, Chapter III). Hopeful, Helen's parents brought her on a train from Alabama to Baltimore. They hoped the oculist could recommend a treatment for Helen's eyesight.
Helen recalled many things about the train ride north. Many passengers on the train befriended young Helen. One woman gave her a box of seashells, which her father poked holes into so she could string them on a necklace. The conductor allowed Helen to follow him around, and he even let her play with his ticket puncher.
Her aunt also came along with them on the journey. To entertain Helen, she created a doll made from towels. Helen described the doll as being "the most comical, shapeless thing, this improvised doll, with no nose, mouth, ears or eyes–nothing that even the imagination of a child could convert into a face." Helen was particularly concerned about the doll's lack of eyes. She pulled two beads off her aunt's cape, and indicated that she wanted eyes for her doll. Her aunt sewed the beads onto the towel doll. Helen stayed entertained for most of the trip, and she was in good spirits.
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