HELEN HARRIS.

The old expression says that when life hands you lemons, you should make lemonade. And that's exactly what Helen Harris did. When she lost her sight due to retinitis pigmentosa, she didn't give up but instead founded RP International. Her organization has been able to help tens of thousands of people; RP International has a 35,000-person mailing list and receives more than 50 calls a day from people diagnosed with RP. RP International can be reached at [phone].

AGE: 60.

RESIDENCE: Woodland Hills.

BORN AND RAISED IN: Born in Philadelphia, Penn. Lived in New York for a short time and moved to Los Angeles in 1972.

OCCUPATION: ``Domestic engineer,'' Harris jokes.

MARITAL STATUS: Married 39 years to Bob.

CHILDREN: Three sons: One lives in Woodland Hills, two live in Agoura.

VOLUNTEERISM: Harris is the founder of RP International and has been the president for 24 years. She is involved in every aspect of the organization - from fund-raising to dealing one-on-one with people who have been recently diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa. She created the Vision Awards, which honors actors, directors, producers and others in the entertainment industry for sending a message that not everyone gets to see movies, television, animation and computer screens that most others take for granted.

Harris created and runs ``The Eyes of Christmas'' television show each year. She recruits actors, athletes and even governors to read audio greeting cards on the show.

She also hosts a talk show Tuesday nights on the Cable Radio Network in which she uses her sense of humor to help people deal with their loss of sight.

Harris' most recent innovation is audio descriptions that explain what is taking place on the movie screen. ``Forrest Gump'' was the first one she got into the theaters. Her latest creation was for ``Hercules.''

Harris has just written a book, titled ``How to Survive Losing Vision,'' for audiotape.

HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED?: In 1960, Harris visited a person in the hospital who had experienced the loss of eyesight. To cheer up the person, Harris told jokes about stumbling around the house and crashing into things. The doctor asked her if these stumbles were true, and they were. Harris could read the eye chart perfectly, but on examination of her retina, the doctor could see she was going blind. But she was not officially diagnosed. Then, in 1972, she found out that two of her sons were also going blind.

BIGGEST DILEMMA: ``Finding a cure for RP.''

MOST DIFFICULT DAILY TASK: ``Finding two pairs of socks that match,'' Harris says, laughing.

FAVORITE DAILY TASK: ``It's getting home and sitting in front of the computer every day and writing poetry. That is how I end my day every day.''

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: ``That I had to give up painting. It wasn't that I was becoming a millionaire, but that I had to give up painting. It was a personal skill. It was something that really belonged to me.''

GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: ``Uncovering the retinal cell transplant that will, hopefully, one day end RP. I found the scientists who were quietly working on it. I gave the paper on the transplant to President Bush.''

GOALS FOR THE FUTURE: ``To end blindness and to write books of poetry. And when I end blindness, I will paint the art for the books.''

WHO RELIES ON YOU THE MOST AND WHO YOU RELY ON: ``I rely on God the most. The people who have RP rely on me; the people I have talked to who question how they are going to live with it.''

ROLE MODELS: ``My mother and my father. They were Irish immigrants and probably never went past the sixth grade, and they were the two most intelligent people I ever met. They learned English with no help and it was because they had to; they had to be able to communicate in an English country. They gave me a faith in God; you could not knock over their faith.''

HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS?: ``By achieving your simplest goals. The simplest might not seem big, but it may be the most important.''

FAVORITE VALLEY HANGOUTS: ``The new AMC Promenade 16 movie theater in Woodland Hills.'' Harris also loves the small local Chinese restaurants where she can ``sit quietly in a booth with my family and talk.''

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Photo

Photo: No caption (Helen Harris)

John McCoy/Daily News