Julius Perez considers coming to work at Beyond Vision a ‘meant-to-be’ accident that saved his life. His path to Beyond Vision had several twists and turns. Born with congenital glaucoma, Julius was never passive. Over his career he has worked as an LPN, trained and worked as a chef and ran his own business, all while legally blind.
Julius’ health was deteriorating. For several years he’d struggled with weight issues, addiction and personal frustrations. He lost the remainder of his sight in 2013 due to a medical complication that left him in a coma. When he woke up, he decided to come home to Milwaukee to say goodbye to his family. His prognosis was grim.
Newly blind and very ill, he planned to find a nursing home to enter into hospice care. On the bus ride to meet the staff at the nursing home, he wondered if there was a way to change his situation after all. Julius decided to give Beyond Vision a call…just on the off chance they had an opening. Not only did he find work, he also found a community who knew he could succeed even when he had so many doubts in himself. This change in his perspective also motivated him to lose over 150 pounds, helping him gain control of his health.
Julius works in Assembly and Packaging where he excels both in quality and quantity of work. A natural leader, he offers guidance to everyone in his department. More than that, he is known for his friendliness, patience, and his willingness to help coworkers, friends, and anyone needing advice or a helping hand. This includes organizing fundraisers with his team. He was eager to point out, “Usually people see blind people in a position of need. The break in there is when you (as a person who is blind) can be in the position to give back and help someone else.”