Listen to the article
A movie about a veteran who embarked on a 3,800-mile bike ride after suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI) that left her blind is being released next month.
Blind AF follows the journey of Shawn Cheshire, an Army veteran and Paralympian who suffered a TBI in 2009 while working in an emergency medical services vehicle as an EMT. The movie shows her participating in her cross-country jaunt from Oregon to Virginia, which she carried out in 2021. It will be available to stream beginning Oct. 28.
When Cheshire suffered her TBI, which occurs when a sudden blow to the head causes damage to the brain and is the subject of intense research to improve the lives of those who suffer with it, she was a 36-year-old single mom of two.
In a release for the movie, she said she began experiencing depression.
She had joined the military at age 17 to escape from child abuse. But her injury, which took place when a patient with dementia pushed her in an ambulance, changed the course of her life.
Cheshire’s Journey: From Army to Paralympics
Following the incident nearly two decades ago, Cheshire decided to get into sports and travel. She went on to become a Paralympian, competing in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, Brazil.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be at peace with being blind,” Cheshire said in the movie’s trailer. “I knew it would be hard. I just didn’t know how hard it was going to be.”
She became a 13-time champion in paracycling. With the help of a sighted guide, she also crossed the Grand Canyon in 2024 on a huge hike.
Her cycle trip across the U.S., documented in the upcoming documentary, took over 60 days.
“If I don’t challenge myself, I become so overwhelmed, and I just focus on everything I’ve lost,” Cheshire said in another film-related release. “I really needed a focus. I don’t like to feel stuck. I like to make sure that I always have choices, so I have to do something for myself.”
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released data in July, finding that the number of cases of TBI grew by 26% between 2021 and 2025—averaging more than 28,000 annual cases.
Team members with the Operational Medical Systems Program Management Office hosted a Traumatic Brain Injury end-user touchpoint at the Tactical Medicine Training Center, bringing together U.S. Navy corpsmen and medical officers from across the II Marine Expeditionary Force to assess new capabilities for evaluating traumatic brain injuries on the battlefield, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, June 30, 2026. (Defense Health Agency Photo by Kimber S. Parish/Released)
From 2001 to 2025, roughly 556,502 veterans screened positive for TBI or a TBI-related diagnosis in VA medical records, or filed claims for VA disability compensation.
Blind AF, directed by Gina LeVay Goldstein, first premiered in 2024 at the Bentonville Film Festival. It won “Best of the Fest” at the 2025 Sedona International Film Festival.
It will be available to stream on Amazon Prime, AppleTV, Tubi and Documentary+.
Read the full article here
6 Comments
Solid analysis. Will be watching this space.
This is very helpful information. Appreciate the detailed analysis.
Great insights on Defense. Thanks for sharing!
Interesting update on Blind Army Veteran’s 3,800-Mile Bike Trek Across America Featured in New Documentary Film. Looking forward to seeing how this develops.
Good point. Watching closely.
I’ve been following this closely. Good to see the latest updates.