"I found my community"

Hadley

I found my community

Appreciate Wellspring: You're not the only person that's struggling.

Marc: This is Hadley’s Insights and Sound Bites, where people facing vision loss share what has helped them cope and adjust.

Appreciate Wellspring: I am Appreciate Wellspring. I'm originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota. And I've just recently moved, I'm in Tennessee right now. I lost my vision in 2019. I had a migraine and the inflammation from the migraine closed the circulation or the blood flow in my brain. So, I've lost verbal use, I lost use of my left side, and of course, then my vision as well.

There's a group of friends on Facebook, it's called the International Blind Cafe, and this is a group of people that we all are in different stages of the spectrum of blindness.

But this group has been instrumental as well to healing and knowing that you're not the only person that's struggling with not wanting to be seen when you're eating, or the feeling when you use your white cane.

It's so eye opening to finally feel a part of a group, a community. Because at the very beginning when you're going through this alone.

And it's great to have this community of people that they're in my background and they're cheering me on, go, go, go.

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].