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"I guess what I am really wondering is does the body’s inability to utilize a certain sense cause the brain to search for another method to come to the same end point? And are there other manifestations of this phenomenon besides memory?"

The brain does exactly that! It's very interesting that you ask that question because as we were discussing that topic in class, I remembered something I had once talked about in another neuroscience class. The story was actually covered by the news. There was a boy, Ben, in California who lost his sight when he was just a baby. As Ben grew up, he learned to rely on other senses to complete his daily activities. He actually uses echolocation, like bats and dolphins! Here is a link to the story: http://scienceblogs.com/neurophilosophy/2007/10/seeing_with_sound_the_boy_who.php

There's actually a whole series on YouTube about Ben. It's pretty interesting and rather inspiring.