"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 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.
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Episode 51
Marilyn went through bouts of anxiety and depression with her vision loss and still grieves the loss several years into her journey. She also decided to do something for herself which has helped tremendously.
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Episode 50
Learning to live with vision loss wasn't always easy for Pam. But with time, her bad days are fewer.
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Episode 49
Jennifer didn't know what to do or who to go to for help as her vision was fading. Then, by chance, she found some help. She found some direction.
The book referenced in this episode is "Macular Degeneration: The Complete Guide to Saving and Maximizing Your Sight"
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Episode 48
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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Episode 47
It was tough for Linda to give up driving and she was heartbroken when reading became difficult. She felt her world was shrinking. But then she asked for help.
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Episode 46
Ashia felt all alone in her vision loss. No one around her knew what she was going through. Then she found something that gave her hope.
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Episode 45
Dennis found that many aspects of life with vision loss can be a struggle. Then he found something that turned that around.
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Episode 44
Judy has lived with progressive vision loss for many years. She's found a way that helps her cope and adjust.
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Episode 43
For years Bill hid his vision loss from others. He was self-conscious about it. Then, he decided to open up.