Listen in as Anne describes how a question posed to her shifted her perspective for living with vision loss.
Hadley
How Would You Help If It Wasn’t You?
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.
Anne Rinard: Every time you lose some vision, it's almost like starting all over.
Douglas: My name is Douglas Walker. You know with some eye conditions; you slowly lose vision over time. And every change can feel like you’re starting all over again. Today we’ll hear from Anne. Anne shares with us some great advice on how she’s learned to take back control.
Anne Rinard: My name is Anne Rinard, and I am currently living in Southern Maine.
I was diagnosed with macular degeneration. My mom had had it at that point for a couple of years, but she really wasn't losing vision. So, I wasn't overly worried about it. And then in 2021, I noticed in April. In fact, my kids were here for Mother's Day weekend. And I noticed that I couldn't read the clock and just a few other things that were blurry.
Then when I went back to the doctor, to the retina specialist, it had gone from dry to wet, and he gave me an injection. So, for a while, I mean, for almost a year, I was going almost every other week because it was changing so much. My left eye also had a PED, which is a pigment epithelia detachment. I have peripheral vision in it but it's just a big black hole in the central.
Every time you lose some vision, it's almost like starting all over. And so, I'll adjust to the level of vision that I have, and then I'll be doing okay, and then I lose more. And I start tripping or falling, or I don't know, something. You know, I walked into a tree. Just different things like that. And it's so discouraging, and not to mention the fact that it hurts your head, but I find the emotional adjusting and readjusting to be exhausting.
I had this woman come who, said to me, "How would you help yourself if you weren't you? How would you help yourself if you weren't you?
Once you start thinking that way, it's easier to be intentional. It really helped me to approach vision loss as, how do I cognitively deal with this? How do I shift the way my brain works so that I can deal with this? It takes it out of the emotional.
It helped me change my attitude so that this was not something that was happening to me. And it opened the door for me to say, I still have choices, I still have some control. Instead of it just happening to me, it was like I became involved with it. So that was a really big difference for me.
Douglas: You never know who might need to hear your story. If you’d like to share, you can leave me a voicemail by calling, 847-512-4867. Or, you can email me a recording to [email protected]. Again, my name is Douglas Walker. Take care and I’ll see you next time.
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The book referenced in this episode is "Macular Degeneration: The Complete Guide to Saving and Maximizing Your Sight"
When Carmel heard a Hadley podcast, it helped her understand what had been happening to her along with her vision loss—something she had nicknamed her "phantom vision."
Carmel mentions an episode of our sister podcast, Hadley Presents. Here's a link to that episode on Vision Loss and Charles Bonnet Syndrome.
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Judy has lived with progressive vision loss for many years. She's found a way that helps her cope and adjust.
For years Bill hid his vision loss from others. He was self-conscious about it. Then, he decided to open up.
For Cynthia, every story shared helps her on her own journey with vision loss.
Living with low vision meant Karen was constantly explaining to others what she can and can't see. Then she found a tool that has made a big difference.
Having to give up the car keys was traumatic for Eugenia. She worried about becoming isolated until she found a new way.
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Denise can struggle with the slow but continuous loss of vision she's facing. But she's found a way to pick herself up on a bad day.
Listen in as Vanessa shares what has helped keep her from feeling hopeless and defeated due to vision loss.
Stacy shares with us how being honest about her vision loss with her friends and coworkers has made all the difference in the world.
For many, having to give up the car keys due to vision loss is traumatic. Deb felt it too. Then, during a call to arrange transportation for herself, a new door opened.
This week, William shares how learning to continue with his favorite hobby, even with vision loss, has been therapeutic—and uplifting. Here's the link to his website https://www.blindtruths.org/
This week Angela shares how she struggled to get around due to vision loss, how she tried to hide it from others, and what helped her.
This week we hear from Appreciate. She found that a Facebook group, The International Blind Cafe, gave her a source of comfort and encouragement.
Marian's inner voice had her living in fear. Listen in as she shares how she redirected that voice to be more helpful for her.
This week Dorrie shares how technology has made all the difference for her in living with vision loss.
Today we hear from Ed who shares how the source of hope for him has changed with time.
Listen in as Cindy shares how advice from her son helped her adjust to her new normal.
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Listen in as Alice shares a boyfriend's advice from many years ago. Words that give her hope, even today.
Listen in as Bill shares how a chance encounter changed his perspective on vision loss.
Listen in as Ruth shares how her frustration and impatience turned around with just one phone call.
Listen in as Sam shares how he struggled trying to hide his vision loss-and how he finally turned the corner.
Listen in as Eugenia describes how her own determination and the support of friends helped her keep moving forward.
Listen in as Zenobia shares how she found the support and strength she needed.
Listen in and be inspired as Saras explains how changing her perspective to, "Why NOT me?" helped her tap into her strengths.
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Listen in as Kara shares how she found new ways to express herself in her love of visual art, and redefining a meaningful life.
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Gregory shares how finding a mentor made all the difference in the world to him, and his entire family.
Listen in as we hear from Sarah. For her, hearing a blind architect's story changed her perspective on what was possible.
Listen in as Tom shares how leaning on his faith helps him adjust to vision loss.
Pat shares with us the choices she made when faced with a visual impairment.
Darryl shares with us how a referral to a low vision specialist was where his life with vision loss began to turn around.
Annie shares with us the steps she took to work through her depression by seeking help from a mental health professional.
Sharon shares with us how she worked through the isolation and found people just like her to get the support she needed.
Hannah shares with us how she had to give herself permission to grieve her vision loss in order to reach acceptance.
Randy's search for help led him into a whole new way of thinking.
Ruth shares how her mother's advice, "Knock the T Off Can't," helped her.
Larry shares how he found strength in his core beliefs to get him through the shock of his initial diagnosis.