"I rebuilt my skills"
Hear how Axel set one goal at a time and slowly took the steps to rebuild his skills, reengage in his art, and reestablish his emotional well being.
Hadley
I Rebuilt My Skills
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.
Voice 1: You cannot do this alone. You need people who are experiencing the same thing.
Voice 2: Probably the hardest part was just navigating through the emotions of it.
Douglas: My name is Douglas Walker. Change can sometimes be overwhelming, especially when the change is sudden. Today we’ll hear from, Axel. Axel will share with us the journey he took to train his sense of touch and connect again with his love of playing music.
Axel: Hello everybody. This is Axel Meier located in Oakland, California. So I was struck by a gunshot that went through my head, and that wiped out my vision from a hundred percent down to zero. So, I survived that and I started rebuilding myself after that. So how to start?
Now what I had to do is I had to first train my tactile senses so that I can imagine what is there in front of me, how to shape things up. And that's why I started to work with clay, because that can be reshaped at any time, as much as I want. And so that's where I started out making little things like bowls and pipes and what have you. So that's how I started.
And then a friend of mine who happened to be working with sculptures, he suggested to me to train myself a little further working with marble. And so, I started that with small pieces because it was hard, not too hard, but hard enough to change shape slowly so that I can grasp this easier, what was really going on. It's all about tactical training. And so therefore I rebuild slowly my handcrafted skills from stone carving, then wood carving.
And furthermore, I made music before, so I was able to play an instrument. I learned guitar like age 12 then I lost my eyesight. I started playing music again. And this also was important for me to form a mental balance, kind of concentrated meditation, if you will. It puts the mind on a total different framework. This also helps me to connect to other people, to other musicians. So that makes socializing much easier. That's helped me a lot.
Douglas: Was there something that someone said to you or something that happened along the way that made all the difference in the world in helping you adjust to living with vision loss?
We‘d love to hear from you if you’d like to share with us, just leave us a message on our Insights & Sound Bites Podcast voicemail by calling, 847-512-4867. Or, you can use your smartphone or computer and email us a recording to [email protected]. Again, my name is Douglas Walker. Take care and I’ll see you next time.
All Episodes
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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.
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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.