John Howard Griffin, author of Black Like Me, Eric Hoffer, author of The True Believer, and Aldous Huxley, author of Island and Brave New World, have all influenced the world greatly.
Did you know that these three authors could initially see in childhood, then lost their vision for one or more years? When they regained their vision, they had renewed gratitude for the gift of sight. They are immortalized by their work. Sometimes having extremely low expectations can make someone yearn for an ability many take for granted. The vision impaired individuals used their regained ability to see to the maximum extent possible with their writings.
To read about John Howard Griffin's blindness, see this Time article.
To read about Aldous Huxley's blindness, see this National Endowment for the Humanities article.
To read about Eric Hoffer's blindness, see this Online Archive of California article.