Was Stevie Wonder born blind?
Stevie Wonder was born premature and placed in an incubator. He was given high levels of oxygen to sustain his life. He suffered from the blinding disease known as retinopathy of prematurity, or ROP. Very premature babies don’t have properly formed blood vessels in the retina, the eye’s innermost layer. Sudden exposure to oxygen as doctors attempt to save these babies is believed to cut off further blood vessel formation. Then there’s a backlash: Blood-starved retinal tissue sends out an urgent call for help that results in sudden growth of abnormal blood vessels, eventually causing vision-blocking retina scars and even detachment. So, Stevie Wonder wasn’t actually born blind, but suffered from ROP.
