ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014\u00a0It\u2019s a blessing to turn passion and what you love into work.<\/p>\n
And for one Brevard County man, continuing to do the job he loves despite incredible obstacles has given him great perspective and gratitude.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
Halim Urban and his wife started their “Village Food Tours” of Cocoa Village in 2018\u00a0
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\u00a0Urban says he’s guided more than 2,000 people since then on his two-hour walking tours of food and history
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\u00a0Two years ago, doctors diagnosed Urban with eye disease which leads to vision loss
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Resources via ara non-profit allowed Urban to continue his work as a tour guide<\/p>\n
\u201cI am just blessed to be able to continue to do it, to meet more people, have more people on tours,\u201d said Halim Urban. \u201cJust to be able to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Urban guides visitors through the history and eats of historic Cocoa Village, taking guests on two-hour walking tours weekly.<\/p>\n
After spending 17 years in the restaurant industry, Urban\u2019s passion for and knowledge of food grew. And following a honeymoon with his wife Jessica to Colorado, checking out various food tours out west, they launched their \u201cVillage Food Tours\u201d<\/a> company in 2018.<\/p>\n The pandemic proved to be a setback, though surmountable for the couple, they pivoted, Urban explained, turning tours into a combination of food pick-ups and Zoom get-togethers.<\/p>\n Though business picked back up, and in-person tours resumed, two years ago something else stopped Urban in his tracks: he began to lose his vision.<\/p>\n It all came to a head one night as he headed out to pick up one of his children from the bowling alley.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was raining slightly out, my wife was home sick. And as I hopped onto I-95, I literally was like, \u2018I can\u2019t see,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Doctors diagnosed Urban with Retinitis Pigmentosa, an eye disease which leads to the breakdown of one\u2019s retina over time. Urban now has tunnel vision, zero night vision, uses a white cane to navigate and no longer drives a car.<\/p>\n The night of his dire diagnosis, Urban said that he went into his room, stunned. But, then he made a choice, as the sounds of his kids playing and laughing elsewhere in the house shook him from his spiraling thoughts.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my head I was deep diving, upset, taking it all in,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was like a switch went in my head, \u2018I can do this, laying in my bed, or I could do that and go and be with my kids.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n