"Knock the t off can't"
Ruth shares how her mother's advice, "Knock the T Off Can't," helped her.
Insights and Sound Bites
Knock the T Off Can’t
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 Walker: My name is Douglas Walker. When you’re new to vision loss it can take time to learn to do things in a new way. Today we’ll be hearing from Ruth. Ruth will share with us some of the things that helped her work through the emotions of vision loss
Ruth: It was gradual that the vision problem developed, and I was still working full-time. And I found myself using magnifying glasses to check my work on my computer at work, to check numbers. I did a lot of work with numbers at that time. I also did lots and lots of sewing. I love working with fabric and sewing. That has really suffered, but I was able to accomplish much more in less time until I began to lose my vision.
I have COPD as well as the vision problem, and they both seemed to appear or be identified at about the same time. And I came home one day, I just went to bed and cried. And then after a while, I didn't go to sleep and I didn't die and I thought, "Now, Ruth, this is stupid. Just get up. There's lots of living to do, get up and go get busy." So, after that, I decided to face the world and cope with problems that were there.
When I was a little girl, my mother had a slogan, she said, "Knock the T off can't," and that's been something that I would keep in mind all my life. And so instead of thinking, "I can't do that," yes, just knock the T off and do it.
Well, at first, my family almost freaked out. I have a younger sister who called practically every day. "How are your eyes? How are your eyes?" Well, she drove me bats and I said, "This is not that bad. I'm doing pretty much normal things."
One of the first things I worried about was personal hygiene and makeup. What if I got my eyebrow pencil in the wrong place? Things like that. I worried about that. So, it's kind of a joke in my intimate friends and family. If you see that I've drawn a line where it shouldn't be, let me know. One of the goals I had was just to continue as much as I could the life that I had been living and make as minimal amount of change as necessary, and I think I still approach life that way.
Douglas Walker: Was there something that someone said to you or something someone did for you early on that made all the difference in the world in helping you to 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 and Soundbites podcast voicemail by calling 847-512-4867. Or you can use your smartphone or computer to email us a recording to [email protected]. Again, my name is Douglas Walker, take care and 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.