Includes posts about grief, anger ,and steps in recovering as a person
When do you speak about your loss of sight? When don’t you need to mention it? And how do you stop strangers or your cousin from asking intrusive questions? This is a big topic, but here are some tips to start with. At the beginning of your sight loss, you are still the person you […]
Read more "How to Talk About Your Vision Loss, and When"
How you think about your vision can be less about the reality of your eye condition than where you are on the road toward personal recovery. Going through vision loss is a personal internal drama. It seems like a tragedy. If your vision loss or blindness is rapid or instantaneous, it will almost certainly involve […]
Read more "What’s in a Name? Eye Problems? Losing Vision? Going Blind?"
There is a lot to hate about losing your sight, and having to ask for help from strangers is right up there. After a long time it can get to be quite fun sometimes (no really!). But at first it’s beyond awful. There are you, a paid-up member of the human race, having to ask […]
Read more "Four Rules for Getting Assistance"
What would people with vision loss have done without Steve Jobs? He gave his staff such a hard time with his perfectionism, but he gave people with vision loss great riches because he insisted that iPod Touches, iPhones and iPads have the screen reader – voiceover – built in. It works seamlessly from the moment […]
Read more "Steve Jobs’ Great Legacy"
I have tried to deny the painful necessity of growing through my serious vision loss over and over. Denial takes a lot of work to dig up. Each bit you fling out seems the final one. Then another fear, another confusion shows up. But do you want to stay inside a little box with shrinking […]
Read more "Why Doing Things for Yourself is Important: Part 2 of 2"
A friend whose vision is in slow decline wondered why doing things for yourself is so important. “Why not accept help from people who can see well? Surely you would feel safer (or be quicker) with someone sighted along?” There’s nothing wrong with getting help. Everyone needs help and almost everyone offers it. It gets […]
Read more "Why Doing Things for Yourself Is Important: Part 1 of 2"
Speaking up when you can’t see faces – it’s all about asking so you are sure With uncertain vision you lose the ability to make eye contact. Maybe you don’t recognize faces now. You aren’t sure when you are being spoken to – or listened to. If this is happening to you, you have to […]
Read more "Ask at the Beginning – It’s Easier in the End"Heading for the jungle When you have trouble seeing you need to pack as if you’re heading for the jungle. You have to be prepared for the unexpected. It’s wise to take back-ups of essentials that your family probably can’t lend you – magnifying spectacles, digital recorder, etc. Pack for yourself, though it may take […]
Read more "Packing for the Weekend: Part 2 – Clothes and Equipment"
Your face deserves to look good Your face is an important advertisement for who you are, and if your eyes can no longer flash and sparkle as they did before, then you need other ways to make a statement. A great haircut, and stylish spectacles (which also protect your eyes from unseen hazards) are two […]
Read more "Hats that Shade Your Eyes and Look Good Too"
Jean Courcy of Waterford Maine became legally blind in 2009. His sight got bad in about 2006, but he denied it to himself and everyone else. After several snowmobile events when he was blinded by the falling snow and became airborne before landing hard, he began to wake up to reality. At about this time […]
Read more "Jean Courcy"