Helen Keller was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, on June 27, 1880. Her father, though not affluent, had a cotton plantation and was the publisher of The Alabamian, a weekly newspaper. Helen's development was normal until she was 19 months old when she had a high fever and became quite unwell. Helen's physicians were unsure what was wrong with her, but they informed her parents that she would most likely die. Helen most likely had scarlet fever or meningitis, both of which generate high fevers, according to doctors. Helen's high fever subsided, and it appeared that she was on the mend, but Helen's mother discovered that she was unresponsive to sounds such as the dinner bell and that she did not blink when someone waved a hand in front of her face. Helen made it through the sickness, but she lost her sight and hearing. Helen was deaf and blind. Helen was frustrated since she couldn't see or hear and had to learn about the world through touch. Helen had awful temper tantrums and had terrible table manners as a result of her frustration. She would go around the table at supper, eating off everyone's plates. Her relatives believed she ought to be institutionalized since her parents were unable to control her. Helen's mother sought assistance and discovered a doctor who specialized in the deaf and blind. Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, who also worked with the deaf, advised her to contact him. Helen could be taught, according to Dr. Bell, and he assisted her mother in finding Anne Sullivan, a teacher. Anne had visual problems herself and underwent surgery to improve her vision. Despite the operations, Anne had a difficult time finding work. Even though Anne had no prior experience educating the deaf and blind, she accepted the invitation to teach Helen. Anne started by teaching Helen how to fingerspell and correcting Helen's bad habits. Helen's conduct improved, but it wasn't until April 5, 1887, that she completely grasped fingerspelling, when Anne poured water into one of Helen's palms and fingerspelled the word water on the palm of Helen's other hand. Helen finally understood what Anne was saying, and from that point, Helen quickly learned hundreds of words. Helen suddenly grasped what Anne was saying, and she swiftly picked up hundreds of new phrases after that. Helen finally mastered Braille, a raised-dot alphabet that blind people can read with their fingers, and went on to graduate from college with Anne by her side. Helen went on to become a writer and lecturer, striving to better the lives of the blind and deaf. Anne collaborated with Helen to translate what Helen had written or signed so that the audience could hear it. Helen and Anne spent many years living and working together to make the country a better place for the blind and deaf.