When I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior!"

Mercy Crosby held her tiny daughter's hands as little Fanny's face contorted in a scream of agony.

"Doctor, are you sure you have to do this to her?" Mercy asked through her tears of anguish.

"Mrs. Crosby, I know it's hard to hear little Fanny scream like this, but we must draw out the infection. These hot mustard poultices are the best way to do it."

"But she's so small, only six weeks old. Maybe we should wait until our regular doctor returns to town." Mercy tried to shut out Fanny's screams, but it proved too difficult. If anything, her screams were increasing in volume.

The traveling doctor replied impatiently. "Mrs. Crosby, as I told you, waiting would only make the infection worse. I know the treatment hurts Fanny, but it's much better to treat the infection immediately. You never know what could happen if an eye infection is left untreated."*

Mercy reluctantly accepted the doctor's diagnosis. Although Fanny's screams eventually subsided to a pitiful whimper, they still lingered on in Mercy's memory. The infection in Fanny's eyes went away, but her corneas had been burnt in the process, and scars began to form over them. In the weeks that followed, long after the unknown doctor had left town, John and Mercy Crosby realized that Fanny was not reacting to visual stimuli. Soon enough, their worst fears were confirmed--young Frances Jane Crosby was blind.

IMAGE LEFT: Just as Johann Strauss was considered the "Waltz King" and John Philip Sousa the "March King," Fanny Crosby was known as America's "Hymn Queen." One of her most famous hymns was "Blessed Assurance."

The Blessing of Blindness
If anyone had a right to be angry with God because of her circumstances, it was young Fanny. Just a year after she was blinded by the incompetent doctor, her father caught a chill while working in the cold November rain and died soon after. Twenty-one-year-old Mercy Crosby was left to provide for herself and her daughter. This she did by seeking employment as a maid. Fanny's grandmother cared for her during the day, and the two became very close. Fanny would later write, "My grandmother was more to me than I can ever express by word or pen."

Eunice Crosby took the time to help her granddaughter "see" the world around her. They spent hours walking in the meadow, where Eunice would describe the sights around her in as vivid detail as possible. Many hours were also passed sitting in an old rocking chair where Eunice would describe to Fanny the intricate details of the flowers and birds around her, or the beauty of sunrise and sunset.

But although Fanny was blind, she did not consider herself handicapped. She did many of the things other children did, and accepted her blindness with a positive attitude that was evident in the short poem she wrote when she was just eight years old:

She maintained this positive outlook all her life and considered her blindness a blessing, not the curse many would be tempted to call it. As she once stated, "It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me."