Superhuman Ben Underwood “The Sonar Boy”

Diagnosed with Bilateral Retnoblastoma (cancer in both eyes) at the age of two, Ben Underwood form the USA had his eyes removed at the age of three. He discovered echolocation at the age of five. He is able to detect the location of objects by making frequent clicking noises with his tongue. He used it to accomplish such feats as running, basketball, rollerblading, playing foosball, and skateboarding.
With no guide-dogs, he doesn’t even need hands: he uses sound. Ben makes a short click sound that bounces back from objects. Amazingly, his ears pick up the ecos to let him know where the objects are. He’s the only person in the world who sees using nothing but eco location, like a sonar or a bat.
When Doctor Ruben saw Ben playing his game boy, he was totally amazed. He walked to Ben and looked in his eyes, and then he looked down to see if he was really playing the game. He finally looked over at his mother and said, “His eyes are nucleated.” She said, “Oh yes, he’s blind.” The doctor said, “How the heck does he play video games” and she replied, “He does everything, ride bikes, rollerblades, electric scooters, you name it, he will try it.” Totally blown away, he thought she had to talk to other parents. People think it is the end of the world when they lose their sight he tells them that they can still lead a productive healthy life.
Ben started writing a Novel in the 4th grade, he wrote at a College level and about 60 wpm on a regular keyboard. His novel is Science Fiction, and he wrote at least 20 chapters.
He died in the morning of January 19, 2009 from the same cancer that had his eyes removed 13 years ago.
May Ben Underwood rest in peace…
Official webpage http://www.benunderwood.com/