"I take it one day at a time"
Listen in as Vanessa shares what has helped keep her from feeling hopeless and defeated due to vision loss.
Hadley
I Take It One Day at a Time
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.
Vanessa: In my early stages of vision loss, I would just feel so defeated at times where I felt hopeless.
Douglas: My name is Douglas Walker. When diagnosed with a vision loss. It’s not unusual to go through the grieving process. Today, we’ll hear from Vanessa. Vanessa shares with us, how learning to live in the moment allows her, to look to the future.
Vanessa: My name is Vanessa Pruit and I live in Kennewick, Washington, Eastern Washington.
I have peripheral vision, but I have scarring in my center vision, so macular degeneration atrophy, is actually what it's called. And I just found that out in August of 2019.
Well, for me, because when I felt like I couldn't accomplish something, I would let, especially in my early stages of losing vision or vision loss, I would just feel so defeated at times where I felt hopeless, and I went through that for years, and that makes you feel low and depressed. And so, after a while I was like, you have to self-talk yourself out of things because even though the world doesn't really understand, I do.
So, I had to self-talk myself into saying, "I'm better than being defeated, I'm better than just sitting here and feeling sorry for myself because of the change from when I had vision until now." And it's not an easy thing for me to do, but I just take it one day at a time. And I do believe that because of that I'm able to face another day.
Douglas: I’d love to hear your story. If you’d like to share, you can leave me a voicemail by calling, 847-512-4867. Or, you can email me 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 44
Judy has lived with progressive vision loss for many years. She's found a way that helps her cope and adjust.
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Episode 43
For years Bill hid his vision loss from others. He was self-conscious about it. Then, he decided to open up.
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Episode 42
For Cynthia, every story shared helps her on her own journey with vision loss.
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Episode 41
Living with low vision meant Karen was constantly explaining to others what she can and can't see. Then she found a tool that has made a big difference.
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Episode 40
Having to give up the car keys was traumatic for Eugenia. She worried about becoming isolated until she found a new way.
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Episode 39
This week, hear how rediscovering a favorite activity helped Celia find balance as she adjusts to vision loss.
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Episode 38
Denise can struggle with the slow but continuous loss of vision she's facing. But she's found a way to pick herself up on a bad day.
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Episode 36
Stacy shares with us how being honest about her vision loss with her friends and coworkers has made all the difference in the world.
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Episode 35
For many, having to give up the car keys due to vision loss is traumatic. Deb felt it too. Then, during a call to arrange transportation for herself, a new door opened.
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Episode 34
Listen in as Anne describes how a question posed to her shifted her perspective for living with vision loss.
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Episode 33
This week, William shares how learning to continue with his favorite hobby, even with vision loss, has been therapeutic—and uplifting. Here's the link to his website https://www.blindtruths.org/
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Episode 32
This week Angela shares how she struggled to get around due to vision loss, how she tried to hide it from others, and what helped her.