"I redefined my life"
Listen in as Kara shares how she found new ways to express herself in her love of visual art, and redefining a meaningful life.
Hadley
I Redefined My Life
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. It’s easy to define who we are with what we do in life. Today we’ll hear from Kara. Kara will share with us how she found new ways to express herself and her love of visual art. And redefine meaning in her life.
Kara: Hi, my name is Kara Snyder and I am from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
I have been a type one diabetic since I was seven, then sometime when I was in my twenties, that's when my vision changes really ramped up and I had a number of detached retinas. The left eye is even after the two retinal attachments, so I lost vision totally in that eye. So, then I was still able to drive with one good eye, but then as soon as that right eye started to have the detached retina, I developed cornea issues. And then that is what impaired my vision with that eye. So, I'm legally blind in the right eye.
I work primarily as a visual artist which is funny, but I've always been a visual. I was an arts administrator and then did visual art for fun on the side. But then once I started losing vision, I realized, wait a minute, I really want to be a full-time artist. And so interestingly enough, as the vision started to fade, that's when I really launched my visual art career. I entered into a number of juried groups and began exhibiting in the Pittsburgh region.
Because the loss of my visual art at the time when I lost vision, I was freaking out. And I thought, oh my God, that's my livelihood. It's my life. It's the thing I love the most.
I had to go through a period of uncertainty, what was perceived as down and dark and depressing. But it was like I grappling to find my feet again. Because the markers I used in my life to define myself or define meaning often were based in a visual interpretation of the world. So, when that became lost to me, it really made me redefine what constitutes meaning in my life if I don't have the visual. It helped me to point to my relationships.
And I realized just because I lost vision doesn't mean I'm not going to call my mom and have conversations with her. I'm not going to not go to her kitchen table and drink coffee just because this change in my physical being occurred. So, once I realized there was such deep meaning in those moments, it made me redefined my sense of being in the world.
But it was really a very basic human need to know how do I proceed in my life with this huge change? And I had some key people in my life who were very supportive. One friend in particular, who really, it was almost like a drill sergeant. You don't give up because just because you think you can't paint doesn't mean you can't paint anymore.
So I was like, what am I waiting for? So I just started to experiment with painting. So I'm not saying it was a perfect seamless bounce back into happiness. It's up and down, up and down.
I still grieve the loss of being able to see others' artwork, other people's artwork, because that was a huge joy for me. It's a loss. But I was able to use that whole recipe of finding meaning and use it for my art, because I used that dialogue sitting at the coffee table with my mom metaphor to then bring it over into my art.
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 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 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.
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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.