The Girl With Kaleidoscope Eyes

by Gyneth Turner

You won’t notice them until you look closely… Rae has kaleidoscope eyes.  Pretty shades of brown, like the fizzy buzz of root beer, the darker hue of bitter-sweet chocolate, and the golden flecks of a cat’s eye.  Surrounding her pupils are geometric triangles of colour and sparkle, kaleidoscope eyes.

Look Closely

Or you will miss all the subtle details of colour and shape, you won’t see the animation in those beautiful, unique and complex eyes.  You will miss out on seeing something rare and beautiful.

Who is Rae Thomson?

Rae is a young adult, freshly graduated from high school, who did a volunteer practicum with us last spring.  Rae proved to be a master at document disposal, shredding the detritus of written work that was no longer needed by staff at The Cridge Centre for the Family.  We were very happy when Rae agreed to return to The Cridge Centre this Fall to continue her work.  Rae receives a monthly honorarium for her service.  In addition to her kaleidoscope eyes, Rae is unique in that she has part of a third copy of chromosome 21, as a result of a chromosomal re-arrangement known as a Robertsonian translocation; this is one of the chromosomal arrangements which leads to Down syndrome.

In Rae’s Words

Rae says the best thing about her job is meeting new people.  The hardest part of her job is fixing one of the temperamental shredders that has a tendency to jam.  Rae says that she likes to tell people that she has an amazing boss.  She knows that she brings many skills to her work, such as her deep understanding of the confidential nature of document shredding, and that she takes her job very seriously.  She plans to save her money so that she can enjoy taking her friends or parents out to dinner, a movie, or a hockey game.