"I found the support I needed"

Hadley

I found the support I needed

Zenobia: When my eyesight began to dim, it was the ultimate insult. I would lose more and more independence, and I didn't know where to turn.

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

Zenobia Carson: My name is Zenobia Carson. I live in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. I'm originally from Chicago, Illinois. Born and raised.

I'm 75 years old, and I've been a social worker, a writer and author. I'm an avid reader and when my eyesight began to dim a couple of years ago and I was also let go from a job, I felt that it was the ultimate insult. I would lose more and more independence, and I didn't know where to turn.

I didn't want to be a burden on anyone that my children and I didn't take offers here in Minnesota to find help.

And I believe that along with Hadley and the encouragement that I've received from friends who finally figured out the truth that I was not seeing as well as I used to. I became more comfortable with sharing my day to day, I guess you would call it my day to day distress sometimes, or my day to day happiness. It's not all stress. I have very low vision and going from being a visual person or a seeing person to being able to not see much at all is a great leap for anyone, especially for me.

I participate in the Writers groups and it just gives me a sense of well-being to know that I'm not alone. I've not been thrown away. I'm not being ignored. And I am still very, very capable of doing many things.

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].