When Aerial Gilbert lost her vision, she concluded that her blindness was a great big puzzle she had to solve.
In 1988, when she was a nurse at Marin General Hospital, she stopped on her way home for eye drops.
Someone had replaced the eye drops with substance that robbed her of her sight. The perso n responsib le was never caught and the random act changed the Petaluma woman's life forever.
Gilbert, now 51, says the road hasn't been easy. Not only did she lose her profession, but she s aid it cost her a marriage and much of the freedom she had taken for granted.
But after six months of self-pity, she d ecided that she needed to deal with being blind or be bored the rest of her life.
"Being angry allowed the person who did this to me to still hurt me," Gilbert said. "So I decided if you get lemons, make lemonade.
It hasn't always been easy, but she now runs a large volunteer program for Guide Dogs for the Blind and has returned to competitive rowing on an international level.
While still in her initial despair, a friend came by and pulled her out of the house and told her she didn't have to see to row, a pastime she had enjoyed since college.
Gilbert went along unwillingly and found that muscle memory took over and she could still enjoy her old hobby.
"It is the only time in my waking hours I can forget I' m blind," she sai d. "When I'm on the water I let go and trust. I feel the stroke and edge of the boat."
Gilbert competes as a member of the Marin Row Association on the Master Advanced Women's Team. Her teammates take turns picking her up at 5:30 a.m. so she can practice.
She won a gold medal in the flat-water single rowing event at the recent World Masters Games in Edmonton, Canada. She took another gold in a doubles event. And sh e plans to participate in the Head of the Charles in Boston in October.
Assisting Gilbert in her travels is her guide dog, a black German shepherd named Hedda.
Gilbert remembered seeing guide dogs in the streets of San Rafael, contacted the agency based in Marin County, and discovered she couldn't just call up and request a dog.
First, she was told, she had to adjust to her vision loss. This gave Gilbert what she called "a mission."
She decided to attend a state school that helps people orient themselves to being blind. She learned to read Braille, to balance a checkbook and travel, as well as modifying her cooking and cleaning skills.
She completed the school's curriculum, called Guide Dogs for the Blind and discovered there was an opening in two weeks.
Her first dog was a yellow Labrador named Webster. He was only her companion for a short while, because of spinal problems, but with him she learned how to stand up with good posture and walk confidently.
"I found out that no matter what I want to accomplish, I can do it with my dog at my side," Gilbert said. "I could have a normal life again."
Initially that meant finding a way to make a living.
Marin General Hospital employed her in a dark room developing X-rays. She then became a medical transcriptionist, where she met her future husband, Larry Lobel.
While working at the hospital, she became the first Guide Dogs graduate to volunteer at the San Rafael nonprofit agency. " I was so moved by what Guide Dogs gave me, I wanted to give back," she said.
Gilbert worked with children and provided tours of the sprawling campus. In 1994, she was hired for the director of volunteers position.
During her tenure she grew the organization from 125 volunteers in six positions to 500 volunteers who service the agency in 75 different jobs.
Gilbert recently w as promoted to a marketing and communications position, promoting Guide Dogs throughout the country. She will work with organizations for the blind, descri bing the benefits of having a guide dog.
According to Gilbert, she still has bad days, but she has decided to solve the puzzle as best she can.
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