So Sad Shirley Jennings (The Real Virgil)

SHIRLEY "SHIRL" JENNINGS, 63, blind for 40 years until operations restored his vision in 1991, died Oct. 26, 2003 in Atlanta. The cause was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. His life was depicted in the 1999 Hollywood film At First Sight, starring Val Kilmer and Mira Sorvino. When two operations restored his sight, he suffered from sensory overload, said his wife, Barbara Jennings. "His visual cortex had lost the ability to process images," she said. "It was much easier to be blind."

Jennings was three years old when he contracted meningitis, polio and cat scratch fever. The illnesses stole his eyesight.

After four decades of blindness, Jennings underwent two operations to restore his ability to see. The surgeries were successful, but he suffered from sensory overload. Less than a year later, Jennings came down with pneumonia, which left him disabled and caused much of his restored vision to vanish