A feel-good story appeared in the August 3, 2005 issue of The Daily Times of Delaware. The story starts off by reporting, “Doctors said after Laura Hattier was born, she’d never be able to see like a normal person, let alone drive a car — but that didn’t stop her. She later entered a beauty pageant — and won. After a chiropractic adjustment, her vision came back, and she married the chiropractor.”
According to the article, Laura was diagnosed at birth with congenital nystagmus, a condition where the eye experiences involuntary shaking, causing severe vision loss. According to Laura, one in a thousand children are born with this condition. She noted, “When I was born, I was completely blind. The doctors told my parents there was no hope.”
This situation did not stop Laura from working to achieve. As a child, her vision improved, but she was still unable to play or read like normal children. “When I was a child, I would look in an adult textbook, and all I could see were dots,” Hattier said. “I thought, ‘Wow, grown-ups are really special to be able to look at dots and get words out of that!’”
By the time Laura turned 16, her vision had improved a little, but she was still legally blind. Additionally, she had begun suffering from severe stomach ulcers. Doctors continued to tell her there was no hope for either of her conditions. However, Laura did not let that stop her. She then entered the Miss Laurel beauty pageant — and won. She noted that event changed her life and opened doors that would have otherwise remained closed. She commented, “That was the best thing about my teenage years.”
While continuing on to college, Laura took a part-time job at chiropractor Donald Hattier’s office in Delmar. She noted his belief in chiropractic by recalling, “He suggested that everybody should get adjusted (chiropractic) if they need it or not, just because it’s a healthy and holistic thing to do.”
It was in this circumstance that her life was changed forever. After just her first adjustment, her ulcers disappeared, and her vision began to improve. Laura commented, “I don’t know if it was coincidence or chiropractic.”
On her last day of employment, Dr. Donald asked her on a date. The rest, as they say, is history. The article notes that Laura and Dr. Donald Hattier now have four children and live near Dagsboro. At age 39, Laura is living the life she never thought possible. Her vision has improved to 20/50, and she reports that she is able to take care of her family and run daily errands. “I can pick my kids up from school, I can drive my kids to church, and I can go to the grocery store for my family,” she said. “I am truly thankful for that.”
