"I still have value"

Hadley

“I still have value”

Linda: Once I got the diagnosis and started significantly losing my vision, I realized that there's a lot that you need to be able to see with working as a Steven minister at our local hospital. And I knew that I was not going to be able to do that.

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

Linda: My name is Linda Jenkins and I live in Somerville, South Carolina, which is near Charleston.

I have retinitis pigmentosa that I had inherited from my father side of the family, when I was in my 40s. So, it was late onset for me and I didn’t think I’d had actually inherited it. Fifteen years and now I’m totally blind.

I volunteered even as I was working, as a telephone crisis counselor and I volunteered in mental health. I have a mental health background as well and I just love interacting with people and connecting with people and listening to their stories.

A number of years ago, as I was losing my vision, I shared with some friends that something on my bucket list, when I retired, was going to be working as a Stephen minister at our local hospital, volunteering there.

Once I got the diagnosis and started significantly losing my vision, I thought, oh, I've got to take this off of my bucket list because a lot of connecting with other people and working as pastoral care, I realized that there's a lot that you need to be able to see. See body language and be able to read people. And I knew that I was not going to be able to do that.

However, I had my friends who were pretty persistent and they said, well, why don't you try going through the training and see whether you can qualify because we know that you can do it.

They actually believed in me more than I did myself. So, I went through the training and I passed.

I went and visited my first patient in the hospital, and I introduced myself and I had my white cane with me, and we had a delightful conversation just chatting and touching base and just talking to her and listening to her and her story.

And at the end of the meeting I said, well, I've enjoyed getting to know you. And I would offer you a prayer if you'd like. I don't need to do a prayer, but if you'd like me to, I certainly will.

And she did say to me, she said, oh, I'd like you to do a prayer. And I said, may may I hold your hand? And she said sure. And I kind of reached out a little bit and she said you're going to have to find my hand because I'm totally blind.

In which case I burst out laughing and she says what's going on? I said, I'm totally blind too. So we flailed our hands around for a few seconds and touched base.

Then we started meeting again about blindness and what that meant. We definitely connected authentically. And I realized at that point that I was able to do this. Even though I was blind. And it confirmed her that we could connect with each other and I gave her some resources and it was a win-win situation for us both.

Connecting with this patient confirmed for me the idea that I still have value. And it gave her confidence to know that she could connect with somebody who was blind also. And she even commented to me, if you're able to do this, maybe I can do something.

I found through working as a Stephen minister at the hospital to be so rewarding to me because it gave me purpose in my life. Even though I couldn’t see, I still was a resource for other people. And had things to give to others. And how they could share with me and I could share with them and that is so important to be able to connect with other people and have purpose in our lives.

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].