{"id":8215,"date":"2024-03-24T20:57:03","date_gmt":"2024-03-25T01:57:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=8215"},"modified":"2024-03-24T20:57:05","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T01:57:05","slug":"from-darkness-to-triumph-zach-tidwells-unyielding-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=8215","title":{"rendered":"From Darkness to Triumph: Zach Tidwell\u2019s Unyielding Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--powerpress_player--><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_5824\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-8215-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/ZachTidwell.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/ZachTidwell.mp3\">https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/ZachTidwell.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Podcast Summary:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this profound episode of Blind Abilities, Jeff Thompson interviews Zach Tidwell, whose life story is nothing short of miraculous. Zach candidly shares the harrowing tale of how he lost his sight by shooting himself, which marked the beginning of an extraordinary turnaround. From the depths of despair, he emerged as a successful app developer, public speaker, and entrepreneur, channeling his experiences into developing the award-winning game, Zanagrams. Zach\u2019s journey is a powerful testament to human resilience, highlighting how he taught himself coding and navigated the challenges of sudden blindness. His story isn\u2019t just about overcoming personal adversity; it\u2019s an inspiring message of hope, determination, and the incredible feats one can achieve by stepping outside societal boxes and persistently challenging oneself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Keep up with Zach on the web at&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/zachtidwell.net\/\">zachtidwell.net<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">and at<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/darkhorsegamestudios.com\/\">darkhorsegamestudios.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thanks for listening!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Contact:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can follow us on Twitter&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/blindabilities\">@BlindAbilities<\/a><br>On the web at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/\">www.BlindAbilities.com<\/a><br>Send us an&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:info@BlindAbilities.com?subject=Podcast\">email<\/a>&nbsp;and give us a call at 612-367-6093, we would love to hear from you!<br><br>Get the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/app\/blind-abilities\/id1085849859?l=es&amp;mt=8\">Free Blind Abilities App&nbsp;on the App Store<\/a>and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.blindabilities.android.blind&amp;hl=en_US\">Google Play Store<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Check out the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/607027582712671\/\">Blind Abilities Community<\/a>&nbsp;on Facebook, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BlindAbilities\/\">Blind Abilities Page<\/a>, and the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/jobinsightsgroup\">Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<!--powerpress_player--><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_5826\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-8215-3\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/ZachTidwell.mp3?_=3\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/ZachTidwell.mp3\">https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/ZachTidwell.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p>https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/ZachTidwell.mp3 Podcast Summary: In this profound episode of Blind Abilities, Jeff Thompson interviews Zach Tidwell, whose life story is nothing short of miraculous. Zach candidly shares the harrowing tale of how he lost his sight by shooting himself, which marked the beginning of an extraordinary turnaround. From the depths of despair, he emerged as a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bapresents"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6rcRg-28v","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":181,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=181","url_meta":{"origin":8215,"position":0},"title":"BlindAbilities Presents BlindJoe &#8211; His Voice Journey Rolls On Into The Knock out Rounds, beginning October 26th,","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"October 26, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Pete and Jeff share an in depth interview with BlindJoe following his huge Battle Round victory on the NBC blockbuster, The voice. While the Skype connection failed several times, they managed to get some great audio, both from Joe himself as well as from the Voice archives and Joe's own\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3581,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=3581","url_meta":{"origin":8215,"position":1},"title":"Job Insights Extra: Adjustment to Blindness &#8211; Meet Rob Hobson: College Prep and Success All in One. Transcript Provided","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"May 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Job Insights Extra: Adjustment to Blindness - Meet Rob Hobson: College Prep and Success All in One. Transcript Provided Job Insights Extra brings you Rob Hobson, Cordinator for Professional Development and College prep at Blindness Learning In New Dimensions, Inc. Best known as Blind, Inc. located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Rob\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Career&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Career","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=373"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3790,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=3790","url_meta":{"origin":8215,"position":2},"title":"Peter Walters &#8211; A Nuclear Scientist and Venture Capitalist: His Journey from Education to Employment #NFB18","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"July 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Peter Walters - A Nuclear Scientist and Venture Capitalist: His Journey from Education to Employment #NFB18 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Blind Abilities continues their coverage of the NFB National \u00a0Convention, 2018 from Orlando, Florida, brought to you by Aira. In this short podcast, Jeff Thompson catches up with Peter Walters in the hotel\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6245,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=6245","url_meta":{"origin":8215,"position":3},"title":"It\u2019s Just Life\u2026 Now. Meet Hilda Dunford \u2013 Mother of a Child Who Happens to be Blind. @OurBlindSide on Instagram","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"September 23, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Show Summary: Hilda Dunford is a mom with 3 children and with the distance learning being the virtual reality that it is, Hilda is fining more and more time to be with her children, learning, caring and growing together. I met Hilda through her @OurBlindSide\u00a0Instagram account. Her Blog-like\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":130,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=130","url_meta":{"origin":8215,"position":4},"title":"Blind Abilities Teen Cast Presents: Christopher Meyer: Challenging the Higher Expectations","author":"Jeffrey Thompson","date":"September 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Play Challenging the Higher Expectations BATeenCast Channel Presents Christopher Meyer, a Blind college student taking on the challenges of the higher expectations those he surrounds himself with and pushing forward through his determination and experiences. Not only is what he has learned from his journey through high school, Blind Inc.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9202,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=9202","url_meta":{"origin":8215,"position":5},"title":"From Screen Readers to Self-Reliance: Cheryl\u2019s Journey to Becoming a Certified Assistive Technology Instructional Specialist","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"October 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Podcast Summary: In this Blind Abilities conversation, Cheryl McIntosh shares her journey toward becoming a Certified Assistive Technology Instructional Specialist, or CATIS, and how she empowers others to build independence through technology. Cheryl teaches screen reader users\u2014primarily JAWS and VoiceOver\u2014through personalized virtual training. She explains that success starts with fundamentals\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8215"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8216,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8215\/revisions\/8216"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}