"That was the turning point for me"
Listen in as Ruth shares how her frustration and impatience turned around with just one phone call.
Hadley
That was the Turning Point for Me
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. When faced with changing vision, it’s the everyday tasks that can become so frustrating. Today, we’ll hear from Ruth. Ruth will share with us, how leaving Hadley a comment, led to an unexpected phone call.
Ruth Alhilali: My name is Ruth Alhilali. I live in Farmer's Branch, which is a suburb of Dallas, Texas. I developed glaucoma last year, my glaucoma came on suddenly. I was at a doctor's appointment, had a good exam in March of last year, and then in April my pressure was high and I'd already lost quite a bit of vision. So, it's all in my left eye, which was the eye I was using most of the time. I have a lazy right eye, which has now been forced to do some work.
The first thing that I guess it was both emotional and visual is trying to find things, trying to put them in one place and then not seeing them. And I just wasn't seeing, even though it was there and I was looking at it, I wasn't seeing. And that took me a while to get used to. But the worst is just the emotional, not being able to read, and not being able to do all the volunteer activities that I filled my time up with, because they either involve driving, and while I can drive, I've limited my driving a lot or if it's where you're packing something or moving around in a kitchen with limited peripheral vision, I sort of felt I was a danger, that I would bump into somebody. So, it was just losing all the things that I had filled my retirement up with.
Somehow, I discovered Hadley and I was listening to Doug's Adjusting to Vision Loss, and he was saying, "You know, it just takes time. Be a little patient." Well, that's not me. And so after listening to that, I was feeling a little unhappy about what I heard, so I wrote a comment that was on the negative side I guess, and showed how frustrated I felt. And low and behold, Debbie Worman called me back. I never thought anybody would ever read my comment, and that was just fantastic. We later on had a long conversation and just to know that there was somebody else on the other end and who was there in the position to show me where things were and to tell me "Try this," or "try that, it will work out."
I think that was the turning point for me.
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 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.
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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.