Bartholomew Lampion was blinded at the age of three; when surgeons reluctantly removed his eyes to save him from a fast-spreading cancer. But although eyeless; Barty regained his sight when he was thirteen. This sudden ascent from a decade of darkness into the glory of light was not brought about by a holy healer. No celestial trumpets announced the restoration of his vision; just as none had announced his birth. A rollercoaster had something to do with his recovery; as did a seagull. And you can't discount Barty's profound desire to make his mother proud of him before she died. The first time she died was the day Barty was born. January 6; 1965.