"Don't let this steal your joy"

Hadley

Don’t Let This Steal Your Joy

Presented by Douglas Walker

Douglas: Hello, and welcome to the Insights and Sound Bites podcast, where people facing vision loss share insights about what has helped them cope and adjust.

Cindy Scott Huisman: I have really called upon those words from our son many times throughout the five years since sight loss.

Douglas: My name is Douglas Walker. You know, even when you know what to do, sometimes it’s easy to get frustrated when your new to vision loss. Today we’ll hear from Cindy. Cindy will share with us how just a few encouraging words helped her focus on what matters the most.

Cindy Scott Huisman: My name is Cindy Scott Huisman, and I live in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Our son became legally blind at age seven in 1999 due to a hereditary condition called Lebers Hereditary Optic Neuropathy.

And 18 years later, my eyesight became affected with the same condition.

Lebers Hereditary Optic Neuropathy or LHON causes central eyesight loss due to issue with the optic nerves. And so, it has caused me to have issues with seeing people's faces and reading print. And of course, I can't drive a car.

Along the way, shortly after sight loss, I remember discussing what was going on with me with our son, and he said, mom, this isn't the end of the world. That was encouraging. “This isn’t the end of the world.”

And there was another day when he and I were at the house together and I was trying to totally reformulate how I go about making a grocery list, and I was getting really frustrated and he said, don't let this thing steal your joy.

I have really called upon those words from our son many times throughout the five years since sight loss.

There were just so many steps along the way with him growing up and just figuring out the system as far as his education and everything else that needed to happen along the way. And then for him to have that opportunity to turn it around and help advocate for me, encouraging me and making me feel better. It was just such a lovely full circle kind of situation.

Douglas: Was there something that someone said to you or something that happened along the way that made all the difference in the world in helping you adjust to living with vision loss?

We‘d love to hear from you if you’d like to share with us, just leave us a message on our Insights & Sound Bites voicemail by calling, 847-512-4867. Or, you can use your smartphone or computer and email us a recording to [email protected]. Again, my name is Douglas Walker. Take care and I’ll see you next time.