"[1] In 1991, at the urging of his then-girlfriend, Barbara, Shirl visited ophthalmologist Dr. Trevor Woodhams to investigate opportunities to restore his sight.
Woodhams suggested surgery to remove his dense cataracts and to determine the true underlying condition of his retinas.
The family contacted Dr. Oliver Sacks, a famous neurologist known for his book Awakenings, who, along with other physicians, concluded that Shirl would need to relearn how to identify objects that he could feel and smell by using their visual cues.
In February 1992, Jennings contracted pneumonia, which led to respiratory failure that deprived his brain of oxygen.
[citation needed] Shirl and Barbara Jennings became the inspiration for the characters of Virgil Adamson and Amy Benic in the movie At First Sight (1999) starring Val Kilmer and Mira Sorvino.