Eye Health Week 2018 Blogs – Day 1
As part of national eye health week Beacon is publishing blogs all week about eye health and what it means to different people. Today we will focus on our Low vision advisor, Louise Connop, who discusses her journey with sight loss.
Cane and Able
“I have been registered severely sight impaired most of my life which is something I don’t really tell a lot of people. But for the last 30 years I have shied away from the reality that I cannot see properly. I went to a mainstream school and tried to ‘fit in’ with my peers as much as I could. Growing up I don’t ever recall a time where it was suggested I use a cane – in fact I would have been mortified if anyone even suggested it.
“Fast forward to when I was thirty years old and my youngest daughter preferred to walk than be sat in her pushchair. Up until this point I had noticed more and more that I was using the pushchair to guide me and help spot kerbs, pot holes etc– something I know feel guilty about. I didn’t say anything to anyone and tried to park all my worries and concerns to the back of my head – that was until my next ophthalmologist appointment.
“The ophthalmologist agreed that my eyesight had deteriorated and couldn’t understand why. I broke down and started to cry. All the bottled-up emotions from the past thirty years had been released. After explaining to him that I was using the pushchair as a guide he recommended I see the ECLO (eye clinic liaison officer) to have a chat. Again, the barriers came straight back up and I was very reluctant.
“Grudgingly I went to see the ECLO who called social services to arrange for some mobility training. Soon after a lady came around to my house asked several questions and had a general chat which ended in her leaving me with a cane. I dug my feet in and told her I didn’t need one, eventually however I gave in and threw it into my handbag. After months of it being there I told myself that I would try it out on our pending holiday to Canada – where I was extremely unlikely to bump into anyone I knew.
“I had promised myself I would use it for this adventure (and I am not one to break a promise) so out it came at the airport. For about twenty minutes I felt silly and thought everyone was staring at me when in reality people didn’t look twice. To my amazement it was the easiest airport experience I have ever had – people were doing as much as possible to assist me without me having to ask or feel awkward.
Finally, after all the stress and pressure I had put onto myself I had taken that first step towards feeling much more independent and at ease. We had an amazing adventure across Canada and it has made me look at things from a different perspective.”