"I followed my faith"
Listen in as Tom shares how leaning on his faith helps him adjust to vision loss.
Hadley
I followed my faith
Tom: In the beginning you panic, there's frustration, you're overwhelmed with emotions. You have to realize that it takes time.
Marc: This is Hadley’s Insights and Sound Bites, where people facing vision loss share what has helped them cope and adjust.
Tom: In the beginning, you are like, "What now? What do I do now?"
It's a life...You can make it. It's just having to really reinvent yourself. And I know now with hindsight is 2020 that in the beginning you panic, there's frustration, you're overwhelmed with emotions. Some days you get up, you feel pretty good, I've got this, life is good, it's okay. And then it can be the next day, it can be later that day. All of a sudden, the emotions that are there, you have to realize that it takes time, patience.
It's kind of funny because there was this lady in our discussion group, not to do with Hadley, but a local group that I'm involved with. She said that a friend of hers really didn't understand, not just people with vision impairment, but people with disabilities, period. And really didn't have a whole lot of compassion and was kind of jaded. Until all of a sudden she lost her vision. And then her whole life got turned upside. And now, she realizes it changes your whole perspective on life and you can become compassionate. I look at it for me because a big component that's helped me more than anything else is faith.
Because sometimes God allows trials and suffering to strengthen our faith so we can help others and be more useful in that. It's really, really hard to be relatable to people if you haven't gone through trials and stuff. All of a sudden, it's, "I know how you feel. I felt the same way, but this is what I found, and you're going to be okay. You've got this, you can make it through this." And that is a very profound thing.
If everybody was just all right, and it was only certain people that had trials and suffering and most everybody else just kind of came into this world and everything was great and wonderful until they leave the world, well, yeah, the best help we can receive is from somebody we can relate with that has gone through things, they've suffered loss. It doesn't have to be vision, it could be anything.
And for me it's how can I continue to serve people? Because I think at the very end of it all, it's not about how much you can get out of life, but how many people are better off because you lived.
Marc: You never know who might need to hear your story. 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].
All Episodes
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Episode 63
The loss Tom feels regarding his vision is complicated because it is ongoing. Acceptance has not come easy. Through the years, though, he has come to approach life a bit differently.
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Episode 62
Anne's declining vision had her feeling down and sorry for herself. But two gifts—one she gave and one she received—helped turn things around for her.
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Episode 61
Glaucoma advanced to the point where Ron found it too difficult to do the volunteer work he loved in retirement. Still, he found a way to pull himself out of the hole he felt he was in and continue to give back.
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Episode 60
Diabetic retinopathy has taken more and more of Charles's vision. To cope, he is learning new approaches to life AND leaning into areas of passion that don't rely on sight.
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Episode 59
Bruce's vision had been decreasing for years. When it reached the point where he was tripping over objects and bumping into people, he felt embarrassed and kept his vision loss a secret. His wife convinced him to try something new.
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Episode 58
Marie grieved the loss of her vision, and still does. Yet, on a sunny August morning, she came to a realization that made all the difference in the world.
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Episode 57
Terry's doctor told him, "There's nothing more we can do. You'll never drive again," and he was distraught. Then he recalled his military days as a Marine and sailor, and that got him through.
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Episode 56
When Emma lost her sight in just a few months, she struggled to cope. She felt alone, her insecurities grew, and self-esteem plummeted. With time, she came to a new understanding and that helped her tremendously.
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Episode 55
Dave calls his experience with vision loss a slow torture. In the face of this, however, he has found a sense of inspiration in explorers, history, and an activity you wouldn't typically connect with vision loss, sightseeing.
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Episode 54
When Albert's vision decreased to the point that he could no longer read print anymore, he found it stressful. But he's found a new source of comfort that helps him quite a bit.
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Episode 53
Jayne can feel isolated living with her eye disease, spending much of her days forcing herself to focus on things that have become blurry. The stress can be overwhelming, causing her to shut down. But there's one area of life that now brings her more joy than ever before.
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Episode 52
When Jeffry lost his sight, he felt a loss of control, a loss of dignity. Then, he began his long road to empowerment, one small goal at a time.