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In praise of… Dawn Faizey Webster In praise of… Dawn Faizey Webster
(14 days later)
When Dawn Faizey Webster suffered a stroke that robbed her of speech and movement, she resolved to develop the faculty left to her – her brain. “I felt that I needed to prove to myself and to others that I was still me – Dawn,” she says. That she has been able to do that owes much to her indefatigability, but also to a system that was able to adapt to her requirements. Faizey Webster, 42, of Staffordshire, has gained a 2:2 degree in ancient history via the Open University. She has also written her autobiography, using a laptop that translates her eye movements into text. The former teacher can write no faster than 50 words an hour. Her condition allows just three hours’ study a day. Her three-hour examination lasted three weeks. But she graduates in October, and then she plans to tackle a master’s. A triumph for technology and for the Open University, but most of all for a student who battled adversity to be herself. When Dawn Faizey Webster suffered a stroke that robbed her of speech and movement, she resolved to develop the faculty left to her – her brain. “I felt that I needed to prove to myself and to others that I was still me – Dawn,” she says. That she has been able to do that owes much to her indefatigability, but also to a system that was able to adapt to her requirements. Faizey Webster, 42, of Staffordshire, has gained a 2:2 degree in ancient history via the Open University. She has also written her autobiography, using a laptop that translates her eye movements into text. The former teacher can write no faster than 50 words an hour. Her condition allows just three hours’ study a day. Her three-hour examination lasted three weeks. But she graduates in October, and then she plans to tackle a master’s. A triumph for technology and for the Open University, but most of all for a student who battled adversity to be herself.