Author, By Faith, Not by Sight (2012)
CD, Heartstrings
Graduate, Arizona State University
Summa cum laude
MA, Royal College of Music and Royal Holloway, University of London
Accepted to Oxford and Cambridge for further grad study
Married, Christina
GUEST BIO
Scott MacIntyre: By Faith, Not By Sight
By
The 700 Club
CBN.com -OVERCOMING OBSTACLES
Scott is the oldest of three children. (Todd, Scott's brother, was born when he was three. His sister, Katelyn, was born three years later when Scott was six in 1991. Doctors discovered Katelyn was also born blind.) They lived in southern California and Toronto before the family settled in Arizona. When Scott was a year and a half, doctors confirmed what his mother already knew: Scott was blind. Scott's parents knew he would have obstacles growing up, but blindness wasn't a life threatening illness so they encouraged him to do everything. “They chose to move forward and not look back,” says Scott. He describes his field of vision as a pinhole. If a sighted person looks through a pinhole in a piece of paper, they can see but they can’t see much.
Scott, 26, grew up listening to music all of his life. Scott’s mom played classical music while he was in the womb. She played Disney tunes, praise songs and music from Phantom of the Opera. She showed him how to play the piano when he was one. By the time he was eighteen months, Scott was playing “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and other one-fingered songs. When he was three, he was climbing up to the piano himself. “I would be lost in my own little world,” says Scott. His first paying gig was a wedding when he was six. (CNN reported the story of him as a child piano prodigy.) Over the years Scott learned to express his feelings whenever he would play.
Scott never allowed his physical impairment to get in the way of his success. He learned to ride a bicycle, swim, boogie board and even ski. Academically Scott excelled and was homeschooled and then at the age of 14, he was admitted to Arizona State University. He was admitted into Arizona State University’s Barret Honors College and Herberger College of the Arts. Scott graduated from Arizona State University summa cum laude at 19. Shortly before graduating Scott went for routine blood tests as part of Fulbright scholarship requirements. On graduation day, as soon as Scott finished his speech, doctors called his dad to tell them Scott had stage 4 renal failure. "It went from the best day of my life to the worst," says Scott, who was devastated at the news that he would need an organ transplant. His dreams of attending graduate school in England were crushed. There was no way he could be on dialysis while waiting for a kidney transplant and live in another country. The family prayed for his healing and for guidance and direction as to Scott’s educational plan in England. God answered in that the doctors finally gave Scott a medical release, but wanted to monitor his creatine levels while he was at school.
GOD’S PROMISES
Scott got accepted at the Royal College of Music and Royal Holloway. He learned his way around London, memorizing several routes and navigating the subway system so he could become comfortable on his own. Scott attended Bible study and found godly Christian men that challenged his faith. “Spiritually, I grew more while I was in London than I ever had,” says Scott. He was committed to living life fully. Scott travelled back to the states on breaks and holidays to visit his doctor. As his first school year came to an end, Scott decided to meet with Cambridge and Oxford Universities and got accepted to both. He chose Cambridge. During the summer, Scott’s health deteriorated and he could not return to London. At 21, Scott underwent months of dialysis, putting all his dreams on hold. “I prayed that God would intervene soon,” says Scott. Then the wife of a former piano teacher donated a kidney in 2007. “She saved my life,” he says. Scott learned that God’s promises are true even when His answers aren’t always the answers we are looking for. “I knew without a doubt that it was He who had used doctors and medical science to heal me. In my mind, that didn’t make it any less miraculous,” says Scott.
IDOL FEVER
The following year, American Idol was holding auditions in Arizona and Scott tried out. As Scott approached the finals, Katelyn’s kidneys failed. “I was so sad to see my sister having to go through this horror,” says Scott. “I also grieved for what Mom and Dad would have to endure again.” Katelyn received a kidney transplant and is attending Biola University. God gave their family a second miracle.
Scott and Christina were childhood friends. When Scott made it to the top 36 finalists, Christina encouraged her friends to vote for him. They were married on August 18, 2011.
He will sing “I Am Hope” from his new CD, Heartstrings.
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